With the holiday approaching and the winter chill setting in, soup becomes a favorite for the winter. In the US, we have an abundance of pumpkin around the autumn time and into the winter months. Naturally, we merged pumpkin and traditional ribs soup into our version of a light yet filling meal. This soup can be eaten by itself or with toasted bread or rice.

This recipe is rated easy.

Ingredients

½ a block of soft tofu

½ lb. of pork ribs

2 ½ cups of pumpkin cube

2 tablespoons of chopped onion

½ tablespoon fish sauce

Chicken bouillon powder (½ teaspoon for marinade and ¼ teaspoon for soup)

Salt

Sugar

Ground pepper

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (“EVOO”)

2 stalks of scallion and cilantro for garnish

Directions

Cut the short ribs strip into smaller pieces of approximately 2 inches.

Marinate the meat with ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of diced onions, ¼ teaspoon of ground pepper and ½ teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder.

Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. You will need approximately 2.5 cups of pumpkin.

In a medium size pot, heat 1 tablespoon of EVOO and sauté 1 tablespoon of onions until it becomes translucent. Add the short ribs and sear all the sides.

Add 5 cups of water and let the liquid come to a boil. Skim the broth of all the impurities that float to the top.

Once the broth comes to a boil, add ½ tablespoon of fish sauce and ¼ teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder.

Cut ½ a block of soft tofu into smaller slices. Cut them again into 1 inch slices.

Cut 2 stalks of scallion into 2 inch segments.

After boiling the ribs for 20 minutes, add the pumpkin.

Boil the soup for another 10 minutes and gently add the tofu.

Add the scallions and turn off the heat.

The pumpkin should be soft enough to eat, but not too soft so it is falling completely apart. Add ⅛ teaspoon of ground pepper and serve.

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Authors: Susan Tran and Chau Hoang