Singapore is a food-loving nation, and what better way to celebrate the country’s National Day with good eats?

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Locally produced, 100% born and bred in Singapore, I came from a traditional Chinese family where soup is a common noun on the dining table. I have always enjoyed the sense of togetherness from sharing that delicious brew poured from the soup pot.

Since I was young, I’ve heard much and read some about the nourishing power of different soups. I had even entertained the idea of being the soup expert”, which I even got it on my bucket list.But it’s a lot easier to brush it off with my favourite excuse, “Kitchen is not my thing.”

To make matters worse, there was a time when I tried to cook pasta but unwittingly turned it into a Eurasian Minced Pork: MeePok₁.

My ultimate goal is to cook is my favourite soup, the traditional Foochow Red Wine Chicken. However, I needed to overcome my “fear of failure”. I decided to take it one elephant bite at a time. I started with something simple, meaningful, and close to my heart. I also adopted the same approach with my creative process:

• Identify the main target audience – my folks a.k.a. “senior citizens” and myself. Example, old cucumber is good for countering the “heat” from our warm and humid weather.

• Make conscious decisions – made sure most of the ingredients I bought would not go to waste.

• Suspended my judgement – I trusted the market folks to be chirpy morning people who would be patient enough to answer my “stupid” questions.

• Kept an open mind – Went along with stall holders’ kind recommendations. Instead of being fixated with my choices, I bought chicken drumsticks and groundnuts in place of pork ribs and black beans – no regret!

• Enjoyed the process – Soak up the colours and the bustling energy of the wet market and even the famous retro Chinese song blasting from one of the fingmonger’s stalls.

I’m sharing two kinds of hearty soups – Old Cucumber Soup and Lotus Soup. Most Chinese soups are beneficial as they are nourishing, easy to learn and prepare, have a great hand in time for something filling, and offers therapeutic effects if approached with mindfulness.

Old Cucumber Soup

Ingredients

• Chicken drumsticks (de-skinned)

• 1 old cucumber melon (remove seeds, wash, and cut into medium cubes)

• 20 goji berries, rinsed

• 6 red dates, rinsed

• 1 pinch of sea salt

Directions

1. Blanche chicken for 1 minute to kill germs. Pour water out.
2. Throw in blanched meat, cucumber melon, gohij berries, and red dates.
3. Boil for 15 minutes in high heat.
4. Turn fire to low for the next half hour
5. Add salt to taste

Lotus Root Soup

Ingredients

• Lotus root (sliced)

• Chicken drumsticks (de-skinned)

• 20 gohji berries, rinsed

• 6 red dates, rinsed

• Groundnuts or black beans

• 1 pinch of sea salt

Directions

1. Blanche chicken for 1 minute to kill germs, pour water out.
2. Fill a ceramic pot midway with water and throw in blanched meat, gohji berries, and red dates.
3. Boil for 15 minutes in high heat then turn fire low for the next half hour. If you like lotus roots to be soft, boil a little longer.
4. Add salt to taste

When I served these savoury soups, my folks’ feedback was positive and they finished it until the last drop. Victory sign. Confidence restored. Hurrah to my new found talent, my niche in the kitchen – “soup”. Have fun in the kitchen!