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    Home » Recipes » Pork

    Bean Sprouts Soup with Meatballs

    October 30, 2018 by Elaine 4 Comments | Jump to Recipe

    A very popular tomato meatball soup in my family passed by older generations--tomato bean sprouts and meatball soup.

    bean sprouts soup | chinasichuanfood.com

    People in Sichuan loves to use tomato and bean sprouts as the basic ingredients for a vegetable stock. We add wonton, beef slices, pork slices and meatballs. Tomato gives a mild sweet and sour taste while bean sprouts bring enough freshness. When combined with the fat released by meatballs, this soup should be one of the best soups in Chinese cuisine even with very basic ingredients. Besides tomatoes, dried seaweed (紫菜) is also a great option especially for wonton soups. I matched this meatball soup with scallion pancakes.

    Ingredients

    Pork mixture

    • 250g minced pork (at least 30% fat)
    • 2 green onions
    • 1 thumb ginger
    • ½ cup of hot water
    • pinch of salt
    • 1 egg
    • ¼ tsp. black pepper
    • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
    • 2 tbsp. cornstarch (optional)

    Soup Base

    • 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
    • 1 tomato, cut half of the tomato into small diced and the other half into wedges
    • 150g bean sprouts, remove the roots
    • 1 thumb ginger, smashed
    • salt to taste (recommend 2 tsp.)

    Firstly, soak ginger and green onion with around ½ cup of hot water. Wait for 20 minutes until it cooled down.We do not include chopped ginger and green onion in the meatballs as they may influence the texture.

    Cut your pork into large strips and place in a blender. Mix for 1 minutes. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce and egg. Then drain ⅓ of the scallion and ginger water in. Mix for another 1 to 2 minutes.  Then repeat the process and add the remaining ⅓ water. Make sure all of the water is completely absorbed.

    Place 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and the last ⅓ ginger and scallion water.

    how to make meatballs|chinasichuanfood.com

    Blend until the meat turns pink and fluffy.

    bean sprouts soup|chinasichuanfood.com

    Prepare the soup base

    Fry the ½ of the tomato until soft. And add enough water and ⅓ of the bean sprouts.

    bean sprouts soup|chinasichuanfood.com

    bean sprouts soup|chinasichuanfood.com

    Scoop the meatballs and place in the soup base.

    bean sprouts soup|chinasichuanfood.com

    bean sprouts soup|chinasichuanfood.com

    When the meatballs float on the surface, continue cook for another  2 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve hot. The meatballs come out very juicy and tender with a slightly touch of sour and sweet taste. I highly commend trying at least once in cold winter days.bean sprouts soup | chinasichuanfood.com

     

    Bean Sprouts with Meatballs

    A super easy homestyle tomato meatball soup, extremely popular in China especially Szechuan area.
    Print Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: Chinese
    Keyword: Minced Meat, tomato
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 283kcal
    Author: Elaine

    Ingredients

    pork mixture

    • 250 g pork , at least 30% fat
    • 2 green onions
    • 1 thumb ginger
    • ½ cup of hot water
    • pinch of salt
    • 1 egg
    • ¼ tsp. black pepper
    • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
    • 2 tbsp. cornstarch optional

    Soup Base

    • 2 tbsp. of cooking oil
    • 1 tomato , cut half of the tomato into small diced and the other half into wedges
    • 150g bean sprouts , remove the roots
    • 1 thumb ginger
    • Salt to taste , (around 2 tsp)
    • 3 L water

    Instructions

    • Firstly, soak ginger and green onion with around ½ cup of hot water. Wait for 20 minutes until it cooled down.
    • Cut your pork into large strips and place in a blender. Mix for 1 minutes. Add salt, pepper, soy sauce and egg. Then drain ⅓ of the scallion and ginger water in. Mix for another 1 to 2 minutes. Then repeat the process and add the remaining ⅓ water. Make sure all of the water is completely absorbed.
    • Place 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and the last ⅓ ginger and scallion water.Blend until the meat turns pink and fluffy.

    Soup Base

    • Fry the ½ of the tomato until soft. And add enough water and ⅓ of the bean sprouts. Add smashed ginger and simmer for at least 25 minutes after boils.
    • Place the remaining bean sprouts in and scoop the meatballs too. When the meatballs float on the surface, continue cook for another 2 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve hot. The meatballs come out very juicy and tender with a slightly touch of sour and sweet taste. I highly commend trying at least once in cold winter days.
    • Add salt to taste and serve hot.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 752mg | Potassium: 296mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Vitamin C: 7.7mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1.2mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ChinaSichuanFood or tag #ElaineCSF!

    bean sprouts soup | chinasichuanfood.com

    « Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Congyoubing)
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Ria

      December 27, 2018 at 10:27 am

      I can not wait to make this! Thanks for posting.

      Reply
    2. Ria

      May 21, 2019 at 10:41 am

      Hi, I made this before with ground pork (I didn't use the food processor, but rather bought it from pre-ground from the butcher shop.) and the meatballs were not as supple as your photos. I hand mixed it, rather than the faster vortex from the machine. I'm guessing that's the reason for hard meat balls??

      I want to try it again and this time, I'll use the food processor instead.
      Can I start with the pre-ground pork instead of buying pork butt and trimming it myself?

      Thanks, Eileen.

      Reply
    3. Carrie

      June 16, 2020 at 11:30 am

      Thank you so much for this recipe Elaine! My grandma used to cook this for me when I was little and it really brought back a lot of memories. My husband said this is the best meatballs he had in his life! I love all your Sichuanese recipes. They are so authentic. (I'm Sichuanese too btw)

      Reply
      • Elaine

        June 21, 2020 at 8:23 am

        Thanks Carrie!! This is a food from my childhood too. My grandma loves to grow bean sprouts at home with a bamboo made pack basket. Then she loved to cook soups with meatballs for me. So much happy memories from childhood.

        Reply

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