Let’s cook ABC soup!
Along with Old Cucumber Soup (recipe here) and Lotus Root Peanut Soup (recipe here), ABC soup is another Chinese-style soup we love cooking at home.
For our ABC recipe, we have carrots, onion, tomato, potato, corn, goji berries, red dates, and meat.
We cooked this homely soup with the pressure cooker, or instant pot.
If you’ve followed us on our blog or Instagram – you’ll know that we sometimes miss an ingredient or two. But that’s the best thing about ABC soup. Even if you forget something, it still tastes as sweet and nutritious!
Easy as ABC, rich in nutrients
Someone asked us why it’s called ABC soup. Apparently, it’s because it’s so rich in nutrients and vitamins A, B and C.
Vitamin A – mainly comes from carrots and goji berries
Vitamin B – carrots (B1, B6, Biotin), potatoes, tomatoes (B9), onion (B6 and B9), corn, red dates, and chicken
Vitamin C – potatoes, onions, and goji berries
Personally, we think it’s called so because it’s so easy to cook like ABC! In fact, we cook this so often at home in so many variations – and they taste great no matter what. We also sometimes use pork ribs or combine both chicken and pork.
Interestingly, ABC Soup may have originated from the Chinese community in Malaysia and Singapore. However, it is also similar to the Cantonese pork ribs and sweetcorn soup.
Making it easier with pressure cooker
We like using a pressure cooker for soups to extract maximum flavours and nutrients in a jiffy. Slow cooking is also recommended – but a pressure cooker just compresses (pun intended) the time from 2-3 hours to less than 30 mins.
The pressure cooker is just another word for instant pot.
Other similar recipes
As mentioned earlier, ABC Soup is a staple dish in our home. The other two Chinese soups we cook regularly at home with the pressure cooker is Lotus Root Soup and Old Cucumber Soup.
Find other pressure cooker recipes here and soup recipes here.
Key Steps in Pictures
Philips HD2139 Pressure Cooker
To yield the best ABC Soup with our recipe, we recommend the Philips HD2139 Pressure Cooker. We’ve been using Philips’ pressure cooker for years – and they are amazing.
Considering getting yours from Shopee through this link.
Easy ABC Soup [Pressure Cooker recipe]
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes30
minutesEasy pressure cooker recipe for delicious ABC soup.
Ingredients
800g-1kg chicken parts (or pork ribs and soup bone)
1 sweetcorn, cut into thirds
2 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 medium carrot (or 2-3 small carrots), cut into chunks
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into chunks
6 red dates
2 tbsp goji berries
salt and pepper to taste
1.2 litre water
Directions
- Place all ingredients (meat, corn, tomatoes, carrot, onion, potato, red dates and goji berries) into the inner pot of pressure cooker. Add about 2-3 tsp of salt and a dash of white pepper. Add 1.2 litre of water or until it just covers the ingredients.
- Seal and pressure cook for 20 minutes. Allow for pressure to naturally release if possible – this takes about 15 minutes after pressure cooking is completed.
- Taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Serve with white rice.
