Shanghainese Big Sprouts N Tomatoes Soup

This blog has been rather quiet recently, yes? Let's see what excuses I shall give. How about my replacement maid has gone to Tawau with her regular employer and I am too hassled with the housework to cook anything special? Here's another: Big son Ming's A-Level exams just started Monday and I'm too busy catering to him? The true reason? I am just to lazy to wash up without help. (Btw, I hate ironing! I have 4 days of clothes waiting to be ironed, and I am nearly reaching out for Prozac. Why doesn't someone come up with an ironing machine??) I will be posting simple everyday home dishes that require minimum preparation so bear with me until Vero comes back 'habis bulan'.

Ming is a soup person. If he comes to dinner and there's no soup, he gets very disappointed and it is terrible for me as a mother who wants to please and feed her brood especially when they are having their exams. He suffers from a dry throat, he tells me. So his potential wife just needs to cook soup soup soup. It doesn't have to be a fancy soup. He is happy with plain miso and seaweed soup. Today he wants his Shanghainese grandma's tomato and big bean sprouts soup with pork bones, boiled for hours until the meat falls off. Ha, what I really did was use a pressure cooker, that wonder pot. This is a tangy soup that is very refreshing especially if you have over-eaten recently. Try it.

Big Bean Sprouts N Tomatoes Soup
1 kg pork bones, cut into 5 cm pieces
400g ripe tomatoes, deseeded if like
3 bunches (about 400g) big bean sprouts*
1 piece thumb-sized fresh ginger, smashed
salt to taste

* These are soy bean sprouts, not the usual beans sprouts which are sprouted from mung beans. They are usually tied in bunches and soaked in water.

1. Blanch the pork bones with boiling water to remove smell and dirt; drain away the water. Cut tomatoes into large wedges. Tail and wash the sprouts.

2. Boil about 4 liters of water in a heavy pot and put all the ingredients in (except salt) and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If using a pressure cooker, this only takes 30 to 40 minutes from the time the pot hisses. Season lightly with salt.