Use these Chinese pumpkin soup recipe ideas to whip up some delicious home-cooked food.
Although pumpkin originates from the American continent, it has become popular in Asia for mainly 2 reasons.
Firstly, it is nutritious and big (so it can feed a big family). Pumpkin is packed with fibre, calcium, iron, potassium, beta-carotene, vitamin B and C. It is known to prevent the hardening of the arteries, and is anti-inflammatory.
In recent scientific studies, pumpkin is found to have elements resembling female hormones which may be beneficial for ladies who may be undergoing menopause.
Pumpkin is not only low in sugar but also aids insulin production which means it is beneficial to diabetics.
However, it contains a high level of carotenoids so excess consumption can lead to jaundice. Did I mention that moderation is the best policy when it comes to food consumption?
Secondly, it can be prepared in a variety of ways. Roasted, stewed, baked, steamed, and simmered in soups.
Pumpkin comes in all shapes, sizes and colours. In the same way, it can be cooked in a variety of ways. Roasting seems to be quite popular as well as in pies and creamy soups. But a healthier way to consume pumpkin, in my humble opinion, is in pumpkin rice porridge or clear soup.
The Koreans have a dish called Hobakjuk (translates as pumpkin porridge) which is steamed pureed pumpkin cooked with glutinous rice flour, red beans, kidney beans and glutinous rice balls. Depending on the consistency, I would consider a pureed pumpkin soup using rice or rice flour as a thickener to be a soup rather than a porridge. Splitting hair? Perhaps. (^_ ^). In Southern China, it is often not pureed but cooked in small pieces together in rice congee.
In Southeast Asia, we seldom see the large orange variety that the Americans use to make Halloween decorations and make pumpkin pies. The most common variety seen here has green splotchy brownish skin. It is not very big but the flesh is golden and the centre packed with seeds. The flesh is also firm.
Do you know that the pumpkin vine and flowers can also be eaten?
Recipe 1: Pumpkin soup recipe with fresh fish, shrimp and scallop
Ingredients
500g pumpkin flesh
75g fresh fish fillet
75g fresh shrimp
75g fresh scallop
800ml fish stock
Salt and pepper
Directions
Remove the pumpkin skin if necessary
Cut the pumpkin into big cubes
Bring the fish stock to a boil and add the pumpkin cubes
Simmer the pumpkin in the stock for about 30 minutes
Add the seafood and cook till they are done
Season with salt and pepper
Serve
Recipe 2: Summer soup with pumpkin and mung beans
Mung beans is a popular ingredient in summer dishes. It detoxifies and hydrates. Addimg pumpkin bumps up the nutrient factor for people feeling weak from the summer heat.
Ingredients
50g mung beans
500g pumpkin
1 tsp salt
500ml water or sufficient water to cover the pumpkin
Directions
Wash and rinse the mung beans
Drain and mix in the salt
Let the beans stand in the salt water for 5 minutes
Remove the pumpkin skin if necessary
Cut the pumpkin into bite-sized cubes
Bring the water to a boil
Drain the mung beans and add to the boiling water. Let the beans boil for 5-6 minutes
Add the pumpkin cubes
Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the mung beans split
Season with salt before serving
Recipe 3: Pumpkin soup recipe with seaweed
This soup strengthens the liver and kidney.
Ingredients
100g pumpkin
10g laver seaweed (zi cai)
20g dried shrimps (xia mi)
1 egg
Dark soy sauce
Cooking oil
Cooking wine
Dark vinegar
Salt
300ml water
Directions
Soak the laver seaweed till soft. Drain and set aside
Beat the egg in a small bowl
Soak the dried shrimps in a little cooking wine
Remove the pumpkin skin and cut into bite-sized cubes
Heat the cooking oil in a sauce pan
Add the dark soy sauce and fry quickly
Add the 300ml water, the dried shrimps and pumpkin cubes
Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes
Add the seaweed and simmer for another 10 minutes
Add the beaten egg and remove from the heat
Let the residual heat cook the egg
Season with some vinegar and salt to taste
Recipe 4: Pumpkin soup recipe with pig's liver
This soup recipe is supposed a good natural remedy for people with night blindness due to nutritional deficiency.
Ingredients
250g pumpkin
250g pig's liver
Salt and pepper
Sesame seed oil
1 litre soup stock
Directions
Remove the pumpkin skin and seeds if necessary
Dice the pumpkin into bite-sized pieces
Rinse the liver and slice thinly
Blanch the liver slices in boiling water for a minute
Bring the 1 litre soup stock to a boil
Add the pumpkin pieces and cook till it is soft
Add the liver slices and cook for another 2-3 minutes or till the liver is cooked
Season with salt and a few dashes of sesame seed oil
Recipe 5: Pumpkin soup recipe with pork ribs
This recipe is good for pregnant ladies and people recovering from illnesses.
Ingredients
500g pork ribs
1 kg pumpkin
50g red beans (chi xiao dou)
5g honey dates (mi zao)
5g dried tangerine peel (chen pi)
Soup stock
Salt and pepper
Directions
Rinse and parboil the pork ribs
Wash the pumpkin, remove the skin and seeds and cut into big chunks
Wash the red beans, honey dates and tangerine peel
Place all ingredients in a soup pot
Add enough soup stock to cover all the ingredients
Bring the soup stock to a boil before lowering the heat to a simmer
Simmer for about 1 to 1.5 hours or until the pumpkin and ribs are soft
Add salt and pepper to taste
All the pumpkin soup recipes above are broths or clear soups. The next one is a creamy one.
This soup is made creamy with rice, not milk or cream. It is great for people with lactose-intolerance to enjoy a creamy soup.
Ingredients
350g pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup of white rice
1 litre soup stock
Salt and pepper
Equipment: handheld blender
Directions
Peel and chop the onions and garlic
Heat the cooking oil into a deep stock pot
Add the onions and garlic and fry till soft
Add the pumpkin cubes and fry for about 10-15 minutes
Add the rice and stir-fry for a few minutes
Add the soup stock and bring to a boil
Lower heat to a simmer and cook until the pumpkin is soft and the rice is broken and ready for blending
Blend the soup until desired creamy consistency. Do remove some pumpkin chunks if you want to have some extra bites
Add salt, pepper to taste
Add the pumpkin chunks back to the soup
Let the soup cook for another 5 minutes on low heat
Pumpkin rice porridge
Rice congee provides carbohydrates in a form that is gentle on the stomach and is easily absorbed by the body. It is an excellent carrier for more nutritious ingredients like the sweet pumpkin.
Recipe 7. Basic pumpkin congee
Ingredients
Half a cup of white rice
Half a cup of brown rice
12 cups of soup stock
600g pumpkin, peeled and cut into cubes
Directions (for rice cooker)
Place rice, pumpkin cubes and soup stock into the rice cooker and press cook
Leave the cover slightly ajar to prevent any boil-over
If you use a rice cooker that has a rice congee setting, you can place everything into the cooker, press the button and leave it alone to cook.
If you do not have a rice cooker, you can make everything on a stovetop using a stock pot
Recipe 8. Fried pumpkin rice porridge
Ingredients
1 cup rice
10 cups soup stock
200g pumpkin
1 stalk spring onion
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cooking oil
Directions (for rice cooker)
Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes (this is optional)
Place rice and soup stock into the rice cooker and press cook
While the congee is cooking, wash the pumpkin and cut into bite-sized pieces
Heat the cooking oil in a wok, fry the pumpkin pieces till the outside is crispy
When the porridge is cooked, add the pumpkin pieces. Stir to mix the congee and pumpkin pieces
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