Floral Bean-Curd Soup

Name: Floral Bean-Curd Soup (一品豆腐湯)
Yield: The soup serves 4 as a first course and more than 6 with other Chinese dishes.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon oil; 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water; 3 egg whites, well beaten; A thin slice cooked Smithfield ham, or any cooked ham; Dash white pepper; 5 cups rich, well-seasoned chicken stock; 1½ teaspoons salt; A few pieces parboiled wedge-cut carrots; A few tiny spinach leaves, stems intact; 4 squares fresh bean curd; ¼ pound small shrimp, shelled

一品豆腐湯

Preparation info

The soup serves
4
as a first course and more than 6 with other Chinese dishes.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Key to Chinese Cooking

By Irene Kuo

Published 1977

About

This simple soup illustrates the way steaming is used to facilitate decoration. The bean-curd squares are mashed, seasoned with shrimp, formed into a mound, and decorated before the steaming. The “floral” mound floats when boiling stock is added.

Ingredients

¼ pound small shrimp, shelled
4 squares fresh bean curd
1½ teaspoons

Asia
China
Soup
Gluten-free

Method

The Mound

March-chop the shrimp into a smooth paste as in the preceding recipe; place in a large bowl.

Put the bean-curd squares on the board and mash them well by pressing down on them with the flat of a cleaver or knife or rice them with a potato ricer until there are no lumps. Add to the shrimp. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and mix well. Stir in the dissolved cornstarch,