The 1Malaysian soup – Beef and radish soup

You know something? Chinese, Indian and Malay tastebuds are different. It takes someone adventurous to embrace all the flavours and enjoys them. For example, most Chinese may grimaced when we mentioned about eating lamb or beef. They will say it smells.

Meanwhile, Malays and Indians may find Chinese foods too bland. So, what about the 1Malaysian soup title I am using? Well, everyone is 1This, 1That, so I also 1Malaysian it. One day, I make 1Malaysian Rojak too.

beef and radish soup

As a Hainanese, we love our beef, lamb and other exotic meats eaten by the angmohs. You see, our ancestors were cooks during the colonial times. So, we naturally have the tastebuds for gamey meats.

This morning, I bought 500 grams of cheap beef meant for stewing. Got myself a white radish, a stalk of spring onion and Chinese celery and I am ready to make a hearty, wholesome, tasty beef and white radish soup.

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To take away the gamey smell of the meat, I added 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tiny star anise and 3 cloves. Well, the numbers can be varied but for those who are new to cooking, it is easy to remember 1,2,3 rite? I also added half a bulb of garlic and a few slices of ginger.

beef radish soup

As usual, if you are cooking soup, do not use too much water. It will watered down (doh..) the flavour. What I usually do is to measure the amount of water that I know we can consume and boil the soup on low heat or using pressure cooker or slow cooker (depending on my mood).

First I quick boil a bit of water and give the beef a quick blanch. It will remove some of the icky stuffs that make the soup murky. Then, only I put all the ingredients and slow boil till the beef is tender. It may take several hours so if you are cooking beef or mutton soup, plan at least 3 hours ahead.

5 Replies to “The 1Malaysian soup – Beef and radish soup”

  1. This soup reminds me of the one I used to eat at Chup Seng chicken rice shop in Campbell Street about 40 years ago!.I think the owners migrated. I love the chicken rice from there too!The chillie sauce was the best!

    I have eaten the mutton nasi bryani at Queens Market two times already since I read about it thru one of your readers. Wah so fragrant and delicious. I am going to eat again tomorrow. At only RM7.50 per serving, it’s great value for money. The amount is enough for 2 persons.If ‘ta pau’ home to eat, just add some sliced cucumbers.Yum, yum!
    PS: The owner very friendly too!

  2. 1Malaysian soup? I am not sure wether all Malaysian could eat it … Indians don’t eat beef and so do some strict buddhists.

    However, this soup reminds me of my mum’s soup (pork with bone [don’t know how to call it in English] and white radish). I have never ate 1Malaysian soup, but, thumbs up for your creativity.

  3. Lilian:
    Thanks for correcting me. lol, it is a typical stereotype. You just reminded me that Indians can be Christians too, and some are Muslims, which are also known as Mamak. Am I right?

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