Ingredients for mixed meatball soup
– Tapioca pearl balls: 500g
– Pork bone: 200g
– Pork meat: 100g
– Chicken meat: 100g
– Dried shrimp: 60g
– Cabbage: 200g
– Parsnip: 1 piece
– Snow peas: 50g
– Carrot: Half a piece
– Onion: Half a piece
– Shiitake mushroom: 100g
– Celery: 1 stalk
– Coriander: 3 – 5 sprigs
– Monosodium glutamate, pepper, salt, fish sauce
How to cook mixed meatball soup in Northern style
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
Wash and drain the dried shrimp, pork bone, chicken meat, and pork meat.
Soak the tapioca pearl balls in rice water for about 30 minutes until soft, then rinse and drain. Cut the tapioca pearl balls into bite-sized pieces.
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in rice water for about 15 minutes until soft, then rinse and cut in half.
Peel the parsnip and carrot, then rinse and cut into bite-sized pieces. Peel the onion, rinse, and cut into pieces. Remove the string from the snow peas. Rinse the cabbage and cut into small pieces. Pick and clean the coriander leaves, discard the roots, rinse, and cut in half. Rinse the celery, cut into sections.
Step 2: Boil the shrimp and pork bone
Bring about 350ml of water to a boil. When the water boils, add the dried shrimp and cook for about 4 – 5 minutes until the shrimp is cooked. Remove the shrimp, soak in cold water, split the large ones in half, and leave the small ones whole.
Chop the pork bone into pieces, put them in a pot with one liter of water, bring to a boil and skim off the foam. Then add a pinch of salt to the broth. When the broth is foamy and the water is cloudy from the bone, strain and collect the clear broth.
Step 3: Cook the broth
Add 400ml of clear broth to the pot with the pork bone, add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, and the dried shrimp. Cook over medium heat. After the broth has been boiling for 5 minutes, add the chicken meat and pork meat and cook together for about 15 minutes. Note that during the cooking process, you need to constantly skim off the foam that floats to the top to ensure clear broth.
When the chicken meat and pork meat are cooked, remove them from the pot and soak them in cold water to cool. Once the meat has cooled, slice the pork meat into thin slices and shred the chicken meat into small pieces.
Step 4: Cook the meatballs and vegetable ingredients
After the broth has been cooked for the required time, strain and collect the clear broth. Then bring the clear broth to a boil and add the tapioca pearl balls, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, parsnip, and cabbage. Cook over medium heat. When the vegetables are cooked, add the snow peas, celery, onion, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, half a teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder, and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes until the snow peas are cooked, then turn off the heat.
Step 5: Finishing
Serve the soup in a bowl, add the chicken meat, pork meat, and shrimp on top. Garnish with some coriander leaves, sprinkle with ground pepper, and enjoy.
Notes for cooking mixed meatball soup
If you don’t have pork bone, you can use chicken broth or chicken bone broth instead.
The vegetables used in mixed meatball soup cook quickly. If soaked in hot water for too long, they will become soft. So remember to remove them and set aside until ready to serve. Pour hot broth over them when serving.
When rolling the tapioca pearl balls, make sure to roll them tightly to ensure that the meat mixture sticks firmly to the tapioca casing and prevents the filling from falling out when steamed.
Do not steam the tapioca pearl balls for too long, as they will become overcooked and lose their natural sweetness.
Although the Northern-style mixed meatball soup requires some effort and time, the final result is excellent! So why wait? Go to the kitchen and try cooking the mixed meatball soup and impress your family. Good luck!
