Savory Rice Ball Soup
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Mmmm
Other than pumpkin spice lattes, what are the most comforting foods to enjoy during autumn? …stew and SOUPS of course!
Growing up, the only rice balls I ate were the sweet ones in ginger that grandma always made for Chinese New Year. Although my grandma isn’t much of a cook, the only three things that she knows how to make are the best ever! Anyway, I’m saving the sweet rice ball soup for another day. I’m feeling savory today.
I had savory rice ball soup for the first time when I was in college. I was at a dim sum restaurant in Monterey Park and was super interested when one of the dim sum ladies pulled her cart up to my table and asked if I wanted to try Taishanese salty rice ball soup. I slowly wafted the steam towards my nose as she removed the cover of the pot on her cart and nodded yes. As she placed the steaming bowl onto our table, I realized that I had just been served up a piping hot bowl of deconstructed daikon cake!
Seriously, the only difference in ingredients between savory rice ball soup and daikon cake is the use of glutinous rice flour instead of rice flour and chicken broth instead of plain old water. This soup is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and of course Chinese New Year. Are you ready for this? Because I am!
The Cast
Soaking the dried shrimp. You’re going to want to keep that umami shrimp water for the broth later.
Chop up the scallions to use as your garnish later
Add your sliced Chinese sausages to a pan on low heat to allow the pork fat to slowly release.
This is the oil left behind after removing the sausage
Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and add in the dried shrimp. You’re going to want the shrimp to turn golden brown for maximum deliciousness.
Next, remove the dried shrimp and sauté the shiitake mushrooms. They will pick up all of the flavor from the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage. It will start to look dry because the mushrooms will absorb the oil. Mmmm
Peel and slice the daikon into short strips. You’re going to want them to be small enough to fit onto a soup spoon.
Add the anchovies to 3 cups of water and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. It should not come up to a boil. You don’t want this to boil furiously, otherwise the stock will turn bitter and undelicious.
Add the anchovy stock, dried shrimp water, one can of chicken broth, daikon, shiitake mushrooms, salt, sugar, white pepper, five spice powder, 5 cups of water, and cook for 20 minutes.
Add 2 cups of water to the rice flour to hydrate. Don’t be alarmed if it looks like a hot lumpy mess at first.
Knead the dough slowly for one minute until it becomes one big, smooth ball.
Form the rice balls
Cook the rice balls in boiling water until they start floating. They cook quickly- should be ready in 2-3 minutes, depending on the size of your balls.
Strain the cooked rice balls and place them into a bowl with warm water to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Once the daikon has cooked through, add the dried shrimp and Chinese sausage.
To serve, add 1/2 cup of rice balls with 1 cup of the daikon mixture. Top it off with another ladle of the broth and a sprinkle of chopped scallion.
The Recipe
1 lb glutinous rice flour
3 pounds daikon
5 Chinese sausages
1/2 cup dried shrimp
20 dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms
1 cup dried anchovies
2 scallions, chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons white pepper
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
11 cups water, divided
1 cup water to rehydrate shrimp
3 cups water to make anchovy broth
5 cups water to cook daikon
2 cups water to hydrate rice flour
1. Start off by soaking the dried shrimp in cold water for 10 minutes. This will rehydrate the shrimp. Make sure to reserve the water after draining the shrimp, since we will be adding this tasty water to the broth later.
2. Next, chop the 2 scallions and set them aside to use later for garnishing.
3. Slice the Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, and daikon. Make sure to peel the daikon before slicing.
4. Place the Chinese sausage into a skillet and set the heat to medium. Make sure to put the sausage into the skillet before the pan heats up, as you want to gradually heat up the sausage so the pork fat can be rendered. Once the pan is shiny and coated in oil and the sausage browns slightly, remove from the pan.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and lightly brown the dried shrimp. Remove from the pan promptly, as dried shrimp burns easily. It should smell very delicious in your kitchen at this point.
6. Then, add the shiitake mushrooms to the pan. Do not be alarmed if it starts to look dry, as the mushroom slices will absorb all of the oil in the pan. The edges of the mushrooms should also brown. Add 1 tablespoon of oil as needed.
7. Make the anchovy broth by cooking the dried anchovies on medium heat in 3 cups of water. I try to keep the water from reaching a full boil to prevent the anchovy stock from tasting bitter. Strain out the anchovies and discard them.
8. Add the daikon, reserved shrimp water, can of chicken broth, salt, sugar, white pepper, five spice powder, and 5 cups of water to the anchovy stock and cook for 20 minutes.
9. Prepare the rice balls while the daikon soup cooks. Start off by hydrating the rice flour with 2 cups of water. Then, mix with a large spoon or rice paddle to bring the dough together. Knead gently for one minute. Next, shape the dough into little balls. I like mine a little bigger, so roughly the size of 2 boba pearls. They will expand during cooking.
10. Cook the rice balls in boiling water until they float to the surface. This should take only 2-3 minutes, depending on the size of your rice balls.
11. Once the daikon is cooked through, turn off the heat, throw in the dried shrimp and sausage, and give it a quick stir.
12. To serve, add 1/2 a cup of rice balls, 1 cup of the daikon/mushroom/sausage/shrimp goodness, and 1/2 cup of the broth to a bowl and garnish with a generous sprinkling of chopped scallion. This should be plenty for one adult serving.
*If you want this soup to taste super seafoody, you can also add some fresh shrimp to the daikon soup mixture during the last 3 minutes of cooking.
Enjoy!
XOXO,
The Bustling Cook