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Hong Kong borscht
Tomato beef and cabbage soup
Lo sung tong (羅宋湯): tomato-red beef and cabbage soup from the cha chaan teng
Order a set lunch at a Hong Kong cha chaan teng and the waiter will ask "red or white?": red is lo sung tong, the diner's tomato version of borscht, brought to the city by Russians who arrived from Shanghai in the 1940s. It has no beetroot at all; instead, beef shin, cabbage, potato, carrot, onion and celery simmer with fresh tomatoes and a spoonful of ketchup into a thick, sweet-sour, brick-red soup. It comes with buttered toast or a bun before a plate of baked rice or spaghetti, and makes a filling meal by itself on a rainy day. A typical slip is adding all the vegetables at once, so the cabbage turns to mush before the beef is tender; add them in stages. Chef's tip: fry the tomato paste and ketchup until they darken before adding water, which gives the soup its deep red colour.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb beef shincut into 2 cm cubes
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionlarge, diced
- 2 sticks celerydiced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 4 tomatoesripe, chopped
- 8 ¼ cups water
- 2 carrotsdiced
- 2 potatoesmedium, peeled and diced
- 14 oz white cabbagecut into 2 cm pieces
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp saltto taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Put 1 ⅛ lb beef shin in a pot of cold water, bring to the boil for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse. This keeps the soup clean and bright.
5 minStep 2: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in the cleaned pot over a medium heat. Fry 1 onion and 2 sticks celery until soft and translucent.
6 minStep 3: Stir in 2 tbsp tomato paste and 3 tbsp tomato ketchup and fry, stirring, until they darken to a brick red.
2 minStep 4: Add 4 tomatoes and cook until they start to collapse.
4 minStep 5: Add the beef, 8 ¼ cups water and 2 bay leaves and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer gently until the beef is nearly tender.
40 minStep 7: Add 14 oz white cabbage and simmer until the cabbage is soft but not grey, the potato edges have started to thicken the soup and the beef is tender.
15 minStep 8: Season with 1 tbsp sugar, 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper; it should taste gently sweet and sour. Remove the bay leaves and serve hot with toast.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 21 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hong Kong borscht take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 70 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of celery?
- Fennel bulb, same weight.
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