Green Radish and Carrot Soup (青紅蘿蔔湯)

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1.5 lbs Pork Loin Back Bone (豬背骨) - $2.99/lb  (This should automatically be "cut" by the butcher for you.  Do not buy neck bones - they blacken soup.)
• 4 dried scallops, shredded roughly
• 4 dates (蜜棗), quartered with a knife
• 1.5 lbs green radish, large roll cuts (the greener and heavier, the better)
• 0.75 lb carrot, large roll cuts

DIRECTIONS 

• Place scallops, dates, radish, and carrots in a pot halfway full of water (i.e., leave some space for the pork bones and the water used to boil the bones) and bring to a boil.
• In the meantime, wash the pork bones, poke out the fatty part of the marrow with a chopstick and discard, and bring a small pot of water to boil.  
• Briefly blanch the bones to lock in the blood so it doesn't leak into the soup.  If the water looks fairly clean, skim out the impurities and add the remaining water to the soup.  If the bones don't look vibrant red and fresh, boil for ~1 minute to remove more impurities and don't keep the water.
• Simmer soup for at least 2 hours.

Sugarcane and Imperatae Drink (竹蔗茅根)

• Purchase a bag of Cane & Arrow Root Stock in Aisle 5A at Ranch 99 (one possible brand is Double Swallow & Flower from Zhong Shan Gu Zhen Li Hua Farming - http://www.lihuazs.com).  Find a bag where the sugarcane and arrowroot is white and the carrots are vibrant orange, not dark and dull.
• Wash ingredients in a pot of water, pour out water, and soak in fresh water for 10 minutes.
• Rinse again with fresh water.
• Add 10 cups of water and soak 30-60 minutes.  At the same time, wash 5 carrots and the stalks and leaves from a bunch of carrots.
• Chop carrots.  Leave stalks and leaves whole.
• Boil water, then add carrots, stalks, and leaves.  Simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
• Taste a sugarcane.  If there is still sweetness, pour the soup out into a container and boil the solids with fresh water for ~10 minutes to extract remaining sweetness.
• If needed, add a bit of sugar.