Dried Chinese Yam, Sweetcorn & Pork Rib Soup
Cooking with Xianyitang dried ingredients
Hob
Dried Chinese yam softens into mellow, tender pieces in a lightly seasoned pork rib broth with sweetcorn and carrots. Choose the hob or electric pressure cooker method on the same page; the fresh vegetables go in later so they keep their shape.
Times are estimates and include soaking and preparation; some tasks can overlap. Check hydration and doneness as described.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Ingredients
- Dried Chinese yam, from the 180 g pack 40 g
- Pork ribs, cut into 4–5 cm pieces, bought separately 700 g
- Fresh sweetcorn, about 1 cob, cut into 4 pieces, bought separately 250 g
- Carrot, peeled weight, cut into 3 cm chunks 200 g
- Ginger, sliced 15 g
- Fresh drinking water for the hob broth; extra water for blanching 1.6 L
- Drinking water for briefly soaking yam, to discard 500 ml
- Salt, added at the end to taste A little, up to about 3 g
Method
Rinse yam and blanch the ribs
Rinse the dried yam and soak in about 500 ml drinking water for 20–30 minutes to start softening it, then discard the water. There is no fresh-yam skin to peel. Put the ribs in a separate pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and blanch for about 5 minutes. Lift out, drain and remove scum. Discard the blanching water and clean the pan. Keep raw-meat utensils separate from vegetable utensils; blanching alone does not finish cooking the ribs.
Simmer ribs and dried yam first
Put the blanched ribs, yam, ginger and 1.6 litres fresh water in a clean soup pot. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer gently with the lid slightly ajar for about 60–75 minutes. Keep ingredients largely covered; top up with a little boiling water if the level falls noticeably rather than letting the pot boil dry.
Add sweetcorn and carrots towards the end
Add the sweetcorn and carrots, return to the boil and simmer for about 20–25 minutes until the vegetables are cooked, the ribs tender and the yam has no dry, hard centre. Continue simmering if thicker dried yam pieces need longer. Check the thickest rib meat with a clean probe, avoiding bone: it must reach 75°C for 30 seconds. Cook longer if necessary.
Season lightly and serve
Taste and add a little salt, then share between four bowls. Take care with rib bones and do not eat the corn cores. Remove meat from the bones and check carefully for fragments when serving children. Lift the tender yam gently to keep it intact.
Cooking tips
- Difficulty: Easy.
- The pack contains 180 g dried yam; use 40 g here. Do not substitute fresh yam gram for gram. Slice thickness affects softening time.
- No stock cube is added. The ribs and vegetables provide the flavour; keep the seasoning light.
- See the option on this page for a suitable electric pressure cooker method, including heat-up and full natural release. A 20-minute pressure setting is not the total cooking time.
- Yam contains starch. For pressure cooking, keep ingredients and liquid below the lower of the model’s starchy-food/soup limit and its half-full line.
Allergens
The main listed ingredients do not intentionally add any of the UK’s 14 regulated allergens; check every label and kitchen cross-contact. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Storage and reheating
Keep raw ribs and soaked yam refrigerated at 5°C or below and follow meat-pack use-by instructions. Keep raw and cooked utensils separate. Cool cooked leftovers promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate within 2 hours, and eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only once until hot throughout.
Electric pressure cooker
Dried Chinese yam softens into mellow, tender pieces in a lightly seasoned pork rib broth with sweetcorn and carrots. Choose the hob or electric pressure cooker method on the same page; the fresh vegetables go in later so they keep their shape.
Estimated time includes preparation, heat-up, pressure cooking, full natural release and open-lid vegetable cooking. Follow your model instructions and check doneness.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Ingredients
- Dried Chinese yam, from the 180 g pack 40 g
- Pork ribs, cut into 4–5 cm pieces, bought separately 700 g
- Fresh sweetcorn, about 1 cob, cut into 4 pieces, bought separately 250 g
- Carrot, peeled weight, cut into 3 cm chunks 200 g
- Ginger, sliced 15 g
- Fresh drinking water for the electric cooker; extra water for blanching 1.1 L
- Drinking water for briefly soaking yam, to discard 500 ml
- Salt, added at the end to taste A little, up to about 3 g
Method
Prepare ingredients and check the cooker
Rinse and briefly soak the dried yam for 20–30 minutes as in the hob method, discarding the water. Blanch ribs for about 5 minutes and discard that water too. Cut sweetcorn and carrots and reserve for the finish. Use an electric pressure cooker of at least 6 litres with selectable high pressure. Check the seal, steam path and minimum liquid requirement. Keep ingredients and water below the lower of the manufacturer’s starchy-food/soup limit and half-full line.
Load ribs, yam, ginger and 1.1 litres water
Add the blanched ribs, yam, ginger and 1.1 litres fresh drinking water, keeping sweetcorn and carrots out for now. If your model requires more minimum liquid, follow its instructions while staying below its fill limit. Do not tightly pack the ingredients.
High pressure for 20 minutes, plus heat-up
Lock the lid as the manufacturer directs and set high pressure for 20 minutes. The countdown starts only after working pressure is reached, typically after about 15–25 minutes heating. Heat-up and full natural release are additional time. Do not open during cooking.
Allow full natural pressure release
When cooking finishes, stop heating and turn off Keep Warm as your model directs. Leave the lid locked while the cooker cools and pressure falls by itself: this is natural pressure release. Do not quick-release soup through the valve, move the cooker or cool an electric cooker under running water. Allow about 20–40 minutes or longer. Open only once the pressure indicator has fully dropped and the lid unlocks normally as directed; minutes alone are not proof.
Finish vegetables with the lid open
Keep face and hands clear of steam when opening safely. Add sweetcorn and carrots. Use the appropriate open-lid simmer or sauté setting to bring back to the boil, then simmer for about 20–25 minutes until vegetables are cooked and the yam has no hard centre. Watch against overflowing and do not repressurise. Probe thick rib meat clear of the bone: 75°C for 30 seconds. Season lightly and take care with bones and corn cores.
Cooking tips
- Difficulty: Easy.
- The pack contains 180 g dried yam; use 40 g here. Do not substitute fresh yam gram for gram. Slice thickness affects softening time.
- No stock cube is added. The ribs and vegetables provide the flavour; keep the seasoning light.
- See the option on this page for a suitable electric pressure cooker method, including heat-up and full natural release. A 20-minute pressure setting is not the total cooking time.
- For an electric cooker with selectable high pressure; do not transfer the timing directly to a stovetop pressure cooker.
- Yam contains starch. Keep ingredients and liquid below the lower of the model’s starchy-food/soup limit and its half-full line.
Allergens
The main listed ingredients do not intentionally add any of the UK’s 14 regulated allergens; check every label and kitchen cross-contact. The Xianyitang dried-ingredient packs state that they are packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check the actual labels of every brand used.
Storage and reheating
Keep raw ribs and soaked yam refrigerated at 5°C or below and follow meat-pack use-by instructions. Keep raw and cooked utensils separate. Cool cooked leftovers promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate within 2 hours, and eat within 48 hours or freeze. Reheat only once until hot throughout.
Shop the Xianyitang ingredients for this recipe
