Dishes
Double-boiled soup
燉湯
Also called: 盅湯 · dun (燉) · double-steamed soup
Clear, slow-cooked soup steamed for hours in a covered ceramic pot.
Photo: Suzuki1314 at Chinese Wikipedia, Public domain
Photo: Ceeseven, CC BY-SA 4.0What it is
Meat, seafood or herbs covered with water in a lidded ceramic jar and steamed, giving a clear, concentrated broth. Simmer House in Kaohsiung, for example, makes a clam chicken soup with free-range chicken legs, Yunlin clams and peeled chillies.
Where it comes from
Double steaming is a Chinese technique the Cantonese call dun (燉), also common in Fujian. It grew out of Chinese ideas about eating for health and was used in imperial kitchens, especially in autumn and winter, to cook costly ingredients with medicinal herbs.
How it is made
Ingredients and water go into a covered ceramic jar, which is steamed for several hours, up to five for full extraction. Because the jar is closed, little liquid or flavour escapes, which suits expensive ingredients and herbs.
How to eat it
Each pot is a meal for one. At Simmer House each soup comes with a side and a choice of rice or noodles.
Where to eat it in Kaohsiung
Sources