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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

TARO SOUP [NYONYA OR TH’NG/AYAM MASAK OR]

The first look at the recipe and photo wasn’t attractive enough for me to attempt this dish. More so, I haven’t heard or tried this soup at all even though my family cooks numerous Nyonya dishes. Looking at the ingredients make me wonder how would the taste be like with preserved bean paste [tau cheong] in a soup. Is it possible to drink a soup like that with yam [taro]?
Anyway, with some yam leftover from cooking Yam Rice, I gave this soup a try by just cooking ½ the portion of this recipe which is enough for 3. To my surprise, this is a lovely soup if you are a yam lover. 
The soup is thick cos’ of the soft yam which tasted good. Hard for me to explain but my hubby says it is quite like Ark Or [Braised Duck with Yam] without the aroma of Dong Quai.   According to him, Ark Or has Dong Quai in the dish. 
The final verdict is that we love this soup very much and I would not mind cooking this soup again.  Perhaps, next time I will add several pieces of Dong Quai in it. I didn’t add all the salt but my hubby says the soup has to be a little salty to bring out the sweetness of the yam. He is right, the soup tasted much better with a little more salt added. My hubby loves Ark Or but I don’t have an authentic recipe [still looking for one].  Anyone has the recipe, do let me know.  Thanks.
Recipe adapted from Nyonya Flavours [slightly modified]
Ingredients
[serves 5-6]
500 gm yam [taro] – skinned and cut big cubes
2-3 tbsp cooking oil
500 gm chicken – cut bite size pieces [I used meaty chicken pieces]
6-7 slices ginger
4 cloves garlic – chopped
2 tbsp fine preserved soy bean paste [tau cheong]
1.5 litres water
Seasoning
¼ tsp white pepper powder
½ - 1 tsp salt to taste



  1. Heat oil in a non-stick wok, pan fry yam pieces until lightly golden. Dish up and set aside.
  2. Remove excess oil. Using the same wok, fry ginger, garlic and tau cheong until fragrant. Add in chicken pieces to fry with the aromatics. Add in some water.
  3. Transfer ingredients to a soup pot [I used a claypot], add in the remaining water. Bring to boil and simmer chicken for about 20 minutes. 
  4. Add in fried yam pieces and seasoning. Continue to simmer until yam is cooked through and soft.
  5. Taste to adjust seasoning. Serve hot.
 photo 77951578-1914-4b72-8eda-9e40a91183ac_zps331eb4b4.jpg
I'm submitting this post to Cook Your Books Event #26 [August 2015] hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

9 comments:

Karen Luvswesavory said...

Hi Kimmy,
I'm a "mountain tortoise" ... never thought of using yam to make savoury soup. From the ingredients and your description, I'm sure this soup taste good. Thanks for sharing :D

PH said...

Kimmy, I love yam but I don't think I have had it in soup. This should be tasty looking at the ingredients. There's always something new to discover!

ann low said...

Hi Kimmy, My hubby loves yam and I'm going to make this soup for him. Thanks for sharing :)

Kimmy said...

Hi Karen, me too, sometimes quite like you.... but as Phong Hong says, there's always something new to learn and discover. No venture no gain. If you like yam, you have to try it. It's good.

Kimmy said...

Hi Phong Hong, don't cook too much if you aren't sure if you will like it but I know you will love it once you tried.

Kimmy said...

Hi Ann, do try and I hope your hubby will love this soup which according to my hubby it's good .

Kimmy said...

Hi Ann, do try and I hope your hubby will love this soup which according to my hubby it's good .

kitchen flavours said...

Hi Kimmy,
I love yam in soups, though the only ones I ever tried is either in steamboat or my mother's bee hoon with yam. I have never tried putting yam in "Ayam Masak Oh" (that's what we call this soup), next time must try!

Kimmy said...

Hi Joyce, thanks for telling me the Nyonya way of calling this dish. I like this name better. I'll update my post. You must try this soup, it is good. I'll definitely cook this again when I can get good quality yam.