Bakwan Kepiting Soup

One of my favourite dishes when I was little was this soup. It is one of the simpler Peranakan dishes, which is so befitting in winter. I have added some goji seeds in the soup because I had some and needed to finish off the packet. I hate leaving the last few pieces of something in the pantry and forgetting about it. To keep the recipe traditional to what my Mummy taught me I've left it out here, but I'm pleased to say they are a nice addition to the soup.When I have a a little extra in the budget I put in the crab meat or prawn meat, otherwise I leave them out. It taste just as delicious and a good budget meal. My Godmother use to make it with soft tofu, which is divine.
This recipes serves 4, and keeps well in the fridge.

Bakwan Kepiting Soup
500g Mince Pork
150g Crab meat/Prawn meat
100g Bamboo shoots. Chop half, then julienne the other half
1 head of Garlic, finely chopped
2 Coriander bunches chopped
Pinch of Salt & pepper
2 tsp Soy sauce
2 tsp Sesame Oil
2 litres of water
1 tbps vegetable oil

1. Prepare stock by boiling water with 2 whole cloves of garlic and pinch of salt.

2. Heat a frying pan and add the garlic and the vegetable oil together. This prevents the garlic from burning unevenly and too quickly. Fry till golden brown, spoon out and set aside.

3. In a large bowl mix the mince pork, half of the fried garlic, the minced bamboo shoots, 2 tbsp of the chopped coriander, salt and pepper, a dash of sesame oil and the crab meat/prawn meat. Squish together and if possible, set aside for an hour for the flavours to come together.

4. The water should be bubbling now. Start forming the minced pork into small balls in your palm and drop them into the boiling water.Add rest of bamboo shoots.

5. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, minced pork does not take long to cook. Then ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with chopped coriander, pinch of fried garlic and a splash of sesame oil. Serve hot with rice and chopped red chillies.