As with other variants of Cantonese-inspired pork bone soup, this recipe roughly involves throwing pork bones, carrot, and one other ingredient into a pot and cooking for a few hours.

This particular version is good in the summer because the flavor is light and sweet, and corn is cheap during that time. Scroll to the bottom for a variation that’s better for winter.

Corn, Carrot, and Pork Rib Soup #

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 3 hours

Ingredients (Serves 6) #

• 1.5 lb of pork spare ribs
• 3 ears of sweet white corn
• 3 medium carrots
• 2 candied dates (the kind that are dry and hard and look kind of stripey)
• salt

Directions #

1. If your rack of ribs came in one piece, cut between each bone to break it into separate pieces. You don’t need to cut the bones to 1 inch like in the photo.
2. Peel and cut the carrots into 1 inch chunks
3. Cut each ear of corn into 4-5 pieces
4. Put everything in a large pot and cover with water, then turn on the stove
5. When the water boils, reduce to a simmer and cook for two and a half hours. Check in after 30 minutes and skim off any impurities that appear at the top. If too much water boils off, add more water and bring the temperature back up.
6. Skim off any remaining impurities floating on top, add salt to taste, and serve.

Variations #

For enjoyment during the winter, you can make it a bit richer and spicier, reminiscent of Singaporean bak-kut-teh:

• omit the candied dates
• adding garlic, star anise, and black pepper at the beginning