Winter Melon, Black Fungus, and Pork Bone Soup

Soak the pork ribs for one to two hours, changing the water two or three times during this period. This step is one of the little tricks; soaking helps remove the blood from the ribs. This way, the soup will not be cloudy or have a fishy smell.

While soaking the ribs, you can also soak the black fungus. The soaking time for black fungus should not be too long. Two or three hours is fine; soak only as much as you will eat, and do not soak it for two days and two nights. Take and eat as needed.

Put the ribs into the pot with cold water, and you need to add slightly more water than usual when making soup. If you choose not to blanch the ribs, just put them in cold water to cook the soup. If your habit is to blanch them, put them in warm water, bring to a boil, and then remove the foam. Tip: If using beef or lamb ribs, you can also remove the foam and the smell this way.

Bring it to a boil over high heat. When it begins to boil, there will be foam on the surface. The foam can be removed.

Don't rush; slowly skim off the foam with a spoon, which is also key to removing the fishy smell. After cleaning it thoroughly, the stew will be milky white and rich in aroma.

Then, bring to a boil over high heat for 5 minutes, and add ginger and the white parts of the scallions. Boil thick soup over high heat, and simmer clear soup over low heat. If you like thick soup, you can simmer over medium-high heat, and for clear soup, simmer over low heat. During the process, simmer over medium-low heat, and before serving, you can bring it to a boil over high heat for more than 10 minutes; the soup will also be milky white. The stewing time for sparerib soup in a clay pot is about half an hour or more. You can add winter melon and black fungus, and cook the winter melon until it is fully tender, about 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the winter melon.

Just season with salt.