China South of the Clouds

This soup is one of the most popular dishes in Kunming. It’s served in little shops all over the city and is fantastic for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can be make this soup with any kind of Chinese pickled vegetables. In Kunming, most cooks use pickles made from the cabbage-like “bitter vegetable”, but a few hours north of the city, near Dali, the same soup is made with a lighter cabbage pickles that has a brighter, fruitier flavor that is equally delicious.

(Adapted from a more thorough version of the recipe in my book Cooking South of the Clouds—Recipes and Stories from China’s Yunnan Province)

Makes 2 Very Large Servings

1 lb pork rib bones, some meat attached, cut across the bone into inch-long chunks
2 scallions, white and light green parts only
1 1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and crushed with the side of a knife
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp salt
6 oz ground pork
3 ounces Napa cabbage leaves, sliced crosswise into 1/8 – 1/4 inch strips (approximately 1 1/3 cup’s worth)
10 tbsp. Chinese pickled vegetables (ideally pickled mustard greens; see Cooking South of the Clouds for a recipe)
2 large handfuls fresh rice or wheat noodles (if fresh isn’t available, par-boil dried versions)
1 oz flat garlic chives, cut into inch-long pieces (approximately 1/2 cup total)
Black Chinese vinegar and dried ground chili in oil, for serving

1. Make pork stock: Thoroughly rinse pork bones (with meat attached) and put in pot with 10 cups water, scallion, and ginger. Heat over medium heat, covered, until boiling, then turn heat to low, skim any foam and any detritus that has risen to the top of the pot, and continue to cook stock, covered, on low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Add soy sauce and salt, mix into soup, and remove from heat. With a slotted spoon, remove meat, ginger, and scallion from stock and discard; skim broth.

2. Blanch ground pork in boiling water for 5 seconds, breaking up meat with cooking chopsticks or a spoon, then drain and set aside. The meat will still be pink, possibly even red in some places.

3. Make soup one serving at a time: Heat 4 cups stock in a medium saucepan until boiling. Add 1/2 of the pork, 1/2 of the cabbage, and 3 tbsp of pickled vegetable. Return to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes, until stem parts of the cabbage begin to soften slightly. Add one handful of noodles and cook until semi-soft (timing will vary depending on type of noodle being used).

4. When noodles have softened, add 1/2 tsp salt and mix into broth, then top noodles with 1/2 of the chives and another 2 tbsp pickles. Cook another 30 seconds, remove from heat, and serve.