Radish soup

Radish or white carrot or Daikon or Lobak in Cantonese. We have a soup which the Chan's have a secret recipe.

I have modified it with pork bones, red dates, Gow Ji, ginger, garlic, onion and carrot. It doesn't not stink as my sister Grace's soup. The water engineer likes the soup so it mustn't been so bad. But once, I made daikon kimchi, the water engineer protested I fouled up the whole house and ordered I throw them away. I think it was the garlic that was the culpit.

My immediate younger sister Margaret has a PhD in plant Pathology from Lincoln University, in New Zealand and is a professor, but she still believes old Chinese herbal rememdy.

She brews a soup from the Chan secret recipe. Get some lobak or chinese radish and simmered in a pot with some dried mussels (4-5 ) over an hour until soft over low heat (cannot be high heat as our Third Aunty said, otherwise the soup will become more fiery heat). Add some salt to taste. when you drink it, you can feel like a cold wind gushed thru your body and your sore throat relieved. My kids love the soup.

Don't put too much the mussels (dam choi in cantonese) otherwise, it will not be good but have a fishy taste. Matthew always ensures that I only put in 4-5 for 4 big bowls of soup and a medium size carrot. I didn't know it was so effective.

When I first came back from NZ, I went travelling very often so Sis Rose boiled that for me because I always came back with headache. (Now I also take 100 plus with me). Then once, I was on duty to Kanowit and Aunty Mark was very sick with great pain in her gum. So I told her about the lobak soup so Uncle Mark immediately called Third Aunty and that was when I got the recipe cos I never bothered asking Sis Rose. Aunty mark came to Sibu with me as I was traveling in the Government vehicle. The next day Uncle Mark called me and thanked me because Aunty Mark was relieved of her pain.

Charles who had lived in NZ and Australia for forty years:
I will try. I remember the lobak is very cooling. I am so heaty inside that my breath is very hot!! I went and got some lobak and then tried to get some dried mussels from the Chinese shop but I couldn’t find any so I asked the grumpy female shop assistant. She said of course we got them and took her a little while to find. No wonder I couldn’t find them as they were very small no bigger then a water melon seed! I expected them to be like the NZ or Aussie Mussels which are the size of a thumb! So I am going to use a small handful for the soup.

Grace says:

Boiling the white turnip or lobak soup stinks your house up. It smells of poo from a baby who has drank too much heaty milk.

Our kids don't like the smell of the soup but when you are in the house for the entire time smelling the soup, you can't smell it anymore and the kids do like to drink the soup.

The vegetable sales woman told me not to take lobak too often, it detoxifies the body. If you are taking medication, your medication will be wasted.