Conch soup with sweet corn and carrot

This chinese conch soup is a good summer soup and suitable for both young and old. The chinese are not fans of cold soups. A good summer hot soup is one that can help dispel heat accumulated in the body and provides moisture.

Conch is a shellfish. It has a very large shell with unique colours and design and are usually displayed as ornaments and souvenirs from a beach vacation.

Conch is common in Caribbean cuisine. The most popular conch dishes are conch soup, conch fritters and raw in salads.

Some of you might think conch is bizarre food. Well, it does looks strange and if not cooked well, the texture can be chewy. But it is reputed to be cooling and therefore good for the sweltering summer heat. If you can find it at your local fishmonger, give the fresh ones a try. Otherwise, I believe there are canned or frozen ones. Here's a selection from Amazon.

The recipe here uses the thermal cooking pot. You can replace with the slow cooker or crockpot or a soup pot suitable for long and slow simmering.

2 corn on the cobs
300g carrot
450g conch
300g lean pork
8 cups water
1 slice ginger

1. Clean the conch and cut into mid-sized chunks. If you are using frozen conch, thaw and blanch in boiling water. Drain, clean and cut
2. Wash and parboil the lean pork
3. Peel the carrot and cut into mid-sized chunks
4. Peel the corn and wash to remove the silk
5. Bring the water to a boil in the inner pot of the thermal cooker
6. Add all the ingredients and bring the water back to a boil and cook for 20 minutes
7. Remove from heat and insert the inner pot to the outer pot, cover and cooke for 3 hours
8. Before serving, remove the inner pot and bring back to a boil for another 10-20 minutes
9. Add salt to taste and serve

Recipe link: http://www.homemade-chinese-soups.com/conch-soup.html