This winter, I would like to add a couple of soup recipes to our collection, and what better way to start than with this soup from my hometown, Shanghai? When it comes to Shanghainese soups, Yan Du Xian (腌笃鲜), is pretty much the crown jewel. It was always reserved for special guests, because the ingredients were expensive back in the day. I remember having this soup just once a year growing up—for Chinese New Year. My grandma and my aunt would make egg dumplings (蛋饺) to round things out, along with glass noodles and napa cabbage. Ahhh…it was so good!
The star ingredient is without a doubt the salted pork. If you can’t find salted pork, use Chinese ham instead. Many families like to use the combination of salted pork and ham (crazy good, I know), as the two add a wonderful earthy flavor to your Yan Du Xian. Just so you know, Chinese ham is generally pretty salty, but salted pork can vary quite a bit. But don’t worry too much—at the end of the day…if your soup is too salty, you can always add a bit more water.
As if all these salty pork products weren’t good enough, the recipe also has fresh pork. This is actually the distinctive feature of this Shanghainese yan du xian soup. The name says it all: the combination of the salted pork (Yan, 腌) and the fresh pork (Xian, 鲜) creates wonderful, lip-smacking umami flavor, and it all comes together as it simmers (Du, 笃).
If this all seems too simple to be true, just wait. The broth might look light and clear, but it carries big flavor. If you’ve never made any of our soup recipes, you should give this one a try. It’s less common than Hot & Sour Soup, but it’s definitely a family favorite! Feel free to add some glass noodles and/or napa cabbage if you want to mix things up.
One interesting ingredient traditionally in this yan du xian soup is the tofu skin knots. These are sheets of tofu that are rolled and tied into knots, providing a really tasty, textural element to the soup. You can usually find them in the refrigerated and/or frozen sections of your local Asian grocery store. If you can’t find them, simply substitute slices of firm tofu.
Remarks:
- If the salted pork is very salty, you can reduce its salt content by soaking it in cold water, changing the water a couple of times first.
- For the bamboo, it’s best to use fresh, but frozen bamboo also works fine. We wouldn’t recommend using canned, however, as the flavor is quite a bit stronger than in the fresh/frozen varieties.
- This soup is also a great base for a bowl of yummy noodle soup or wonton soup; just remember to cook the noodles or wontons separately!
You’ll need:
- 1 pound fresh pork belly (or 2 pounds pork ribs), cut into 1” x 1” chunks
- 1 pound salted pork, cut into 1” x 1” chunks (mine was homemade, and therefore not too salty; if you’re using store-bought, you may want to use slightly less)*
- 14 cups water
- 4 slices ginger
- 1 pound frozen bamboo shoots (or fresh winter bamboo, when in season), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 bag tofu skin knots
- Salt, to taste (but it’s likely that you won’t need it)
- 1 scallion, finely chopped
For more information on ingredients we use in our recipes, check out our Chinese Ingredients pages complete with pictures and descriptions and Amazon links where you can purchase them if you can’t find them at a local Asian grocery store.
*If you are using ham, cut it into ½” x ½” cubes, and try not to use more than 3 ounces. Also, remember to reduce the salted pork by at least 1/4 pound to offset the addition of the ham.
Boil a large pot of water, and clay or earthen pot, if you have one is best. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, wash and cut all the meats. Blanch them all at once in the boiling water. Drain and set aside.
In a large soup pot, add 14 cups water, ginger, and all the blanched meats. Bring everything to a boil, and immediately turn the heat to down to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for 90 minutes.
After 90 minutes, add the bamboo shoots. Bring the soup to a boil, and then simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Now add the tofu skin knots. Bring the entire thing to a boil, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Salt to taste, sprinkle with chopped scallions, and it’s ready to serve!
Serve this Traditional Yan Du Xian soup as a starter or with rice and a veggie side as a meal!
- 1 pound fresh pork belly (or 2 pounds pork ribs), cut into 1” x 1” chunks
- 1 pound salted pork, cut into 1” x 1” chunks (mine was homemade, and therefore not too salty; if you’re using store-bought, you may want to use slightly less)*
- 14 cups water
- 4 slices ginger
- 1 pound frozen bamboo shoots (or fresh winter bamboo, when in season), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 bag tofu skin knots
- Salt, to taste (but it’s likely that you won’t need it)
- 1 scallion, finely chopped
- Boil a large pot of water. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, wash and cut all the meats. Blanch them all at once in the boiling water. Drain and set aside.
- In a large soup pot, add 14 cups water, ginger, and all the blanched meats. Bring everything to a boil, and immediately turn the heat to down to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for 90 minutes.
- After 90 minutes, add the bamboo shoots. Bring the soup to a boil, and then simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
- Now add the tofu skin knots. Bring the entire thing to a boil, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Salt to taste, sprinkle with chopped scallions, and it’s ready to serve!
angelitacarmelita says
This soup really hits every single bell and whistle for me… I have access to really excellent Asian ingredients, but the tofu knots are alluding me and now I’m obsessed w/finding them! If you live on the east coast, Hormel makes a really good quality salt pork, I buy it in North Carolina when I’m there and freeze it for the winter (like a little squirrel). You just have to know how to buy it. Some is all fat, and the good ones have a good fat to meat ratio. Your site is one of my favorites and when I want something truly Asian inspired, yours is the site I seek. Your lotus root and pork soup is my winter go to. Thank you!
Judy says
Hahaha…so glad you are enjoying our recipes. Happy wokking!
Judy says
Wow, so glad you enjoyed it! This soup is very addictive, no?
angelitacarmelita says
We are in a deep freeze here in Northern Virginia right now, and I have a pot of this on my stove right now simmering! YES, it’s totally addictive! and as I mentioned before, this is my FAVORITE soup. I am still w/o the tofu knots, (it makes me crazy that I can’t find them!) but I can add tofu to this (which I have done), or tofu skin (which I have also done). I’ll wait a day and than enjoy this for several days, we’re expecting more snow this weekend and the only good thing about that is THIS SOUP! It smells so good and warm in my house right now… Thank you Judy!
Judy says
Love it! Enjoy.
Jenny says
Thank you so so sooo much for having these Shanghainese recipes! Growing up my parents cooked every night, mostly Shanghainese food and I took it for granted. Fast foward to adulthood, most asian places have Cantonese or other chinese food but not so much shanghainese. It’s been great having this resource!
Judy says
You are welcome, Jenny! I am also Shanghainese, and it’s very important to me to document our favorite recipes in English for my girls.
Yi says
Hi Judy,
This is my boyfriend’s favorite soup! It’s a little bit hard to get good salted belly meat in the U.S. Would you mind sharing how you make your home-made salted belly? It will be very helpful if you can also include some tips about how to choose the best piece of belly in the supermarket. :)
Thanks a lot!
Judy says
Hi Yi, many people have asked for a salted pork recipe. I’ll work on it right away. In the mean time, you can use Virginia ham, the hard cured type (not the ones you use for sandwiches.) As far as picking the best piece of pork belly, I usually just go for the leanest piece :-)
Danielle says
Hi
I am making this for our chinese nutritional class and could only find the dried tofu knots, do I need to soak first or just put them in the soup 20 minutes before serving?
Judy says
You should soak them first…I hope the packaging provided some instructions. You can adjust the cooking time accordingly. The tofu knots should be soft but not falling apart.
Christina says
I know this recipe was from awhile ago but we’re finally starting to get some cold weather in Philly and this soup is exactly what I was looking for. This always reminds me of chinese new year’s with my family because this was always cooked or ordered at the restaurant. Thanks for posting this! I can’t wait to make it.
Judy says
You are right, you are not going to go wrong with this soup recipe. It’s an all time favorite.
Frank says
This looks wonderful. I’m always up for cured pork of any variety. I’ve seen those knotted tofu skins in Asian markets and always wondered what to do with them—Now I know!
Judy says
Hope you will give this recipe a try, Frank!
Little Cooking Tips says
Thank you for another authentic Chinese recipe dear Judy! Unfortunately this one has some ingredients we won’t be able to find, but we’ll make a small variation:) If you like salted pork you must try the siglino if you ever come to Greece. It’s a traditional Peloponnese pancetta used in soups (like fasolada bean soup). We bet it’ll taste amazing with your recipe!:)
Again, thank you sharing such wonderful recipes!
Have a beautiful day ahead!
xoxoxo
Judy says
Thank you so much, Panos and Mirella! Visiting Greece is definitely in the plan. Can’t wait to try your cuisine in your country, I plan to eat a lot of grilled seafood.
jeanniebeanie says
What’s your recipe for salted pork?
Judy says
I am afraid it’s not something I can explain in a couple of sentences. I think I need to post a recipe.
Alice says
Please post a recipe for salted pork! Also, do you have a picture of what salted pork that they sell in groceries looks like? I would love to make this recipe if I can figure out where to find/how to make the salted pork ingredient. Thanks!!
Judy says
Hi Alice, request received! It’s been on my list of recipes to do and I do want to get it done.
Alice says
Thank you so much!! You guys are the best!
Judy says
^O^ ^O^ ^O^
Janice says
I don’t think I’ve ever had salted pork before. What kind of cut is it?
Judy says
Hi Janice, most of the time it’s the pork belly.
Donna says
Again, your recipe calls to me. But since I like to be as authentic as possible, can you provide recipe for making homemade salted pork? The cool weather is perfect for this soup series.
Judy says
Hi Donna, I hope to post a recipe for the homemade salted pork very shortly. Thank you so much!