Chan Choy Tong (Malabar Spinach Soup) with salted duck egg for another layer of flavor. This quick boil soup is perfect for busy weeknights.
I cannot stress enough the importance of clear soups in a Chinese home. In some families, it is served during each and every meal. Mom made a pot of soup almost every day for dinner when I was growing up. Back in my primary (elementary) school days, charcoal stoves were still being used for boiling soups. I remember mom had the local grocery shop deliver a bag of charcoal to the house every month for this purpose. Such was the service in the old days and there was no charge for this home delivery on the motorbike.
Charcoal Stove
The stand alone charcoal stove usually stood in the courtyard, a paved but unroofed area right in the middle of the house. Almost every day I would come home from school to find a pot of soup slowly cooking on that stove. If the stove was not lid that day, soup would still be served. Instead, mom would prepare a quick boil soup on the gas stove. These soups were usually made with ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and vegetables.
Quick Boil Chan Choy Tong (Malabar Spinach Soup)
One such soup is this popular Chan Choy Tong (Malabar Spinach Soup). Back then, purple stem chan choy was the norm and they can be easily purchased at the wet markets. Only the leaves are eaten and the thick center stem can be stuck in the dirt by the chain-linked fence to grow. These fast growing vines held a fascination for the kids, myself included. Apart from those succulent leaves, they also produce purple berries (pods) which will turn into seeds when allowed to mature. These poor plants rarely got the chance to do their thing as my brothers and I together with the neighborhood kids would have so much fun bursting them and staining our hands and driveway with the purple juice. Oops, that was one of the naughty things I did as a kid! Now, you know my “secret”…haha!
Ikan Bilis/Dried Anchovies or Minced/Ground Pork Soup Base
Now, back to this delicious Chan Choy Tong (Malabar Spinach Soup). As I was saying, this soup can be prepared in no time at all. Some families would use ikan bilis (dried anchovies) while others minced/ground pork for the soup base. Then, a regular chicken egg or a salted duck egg is cracked into the soup. Mom prefers to use ikan bilis and regular chicken egg. For today’s recipe, I have decided to use both ikan bilis and minced/ground pork as I have a small portion left in refrigerator which needed to be used. I recently made some brine cured salted duck eggs and so I used one for this soup. Ahh…the soup turned out to be super tasty! I finished two bowls of this soup with a bowl of steamed rice. It was soooo good!
Similar Tools Used in Making This Chan Choy Tong (Malabar Spinach Soup)
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Cuisinart Professional Stainless Saucepan with Cover, 3-Quart, Stainless Steel
Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Stockpot with Cover, 6-Quart
Chef Craft Stainless Steel Ladle
Chan Choy Tong (Malabar Spinach Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- ½ oz ikan bilis (dried anchovies), peeled and cleaned (15g)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 3 oz ground pork (85g)
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- 4 cups water (960ml)
- 1 salted duck egg
- Salt to taste
- ¾ lb chan choy (Malabar spinach), rinsed, drained, and stems removed (340g)
Instructions
- Rinse and soak dried anchovies for 10 minutes. Drain and wipe dry with paper towels.
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium sized pot. Fry (ikan bilis) anchovies for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Add ground pork and pepper. Continue to cook until pork turns opaque, about 2 minutes.
- Pour in water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Crack salted duck egg into the soup. Break up yolk with a spatula and continue to simmer until salted duck egg is cooked through. Add a little salt if necessary.
- Add chan choy/Malabar spinach leaves. Bring soup back up to a boil. Turn off the stove.
- Dish into individual soup bowls and serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
NOTE: The original publication of this post was on March 25th, 2015. This republication comes with minor changes to the writeup. The recipe remains unchanged.
This one certainly brings back memories! My mom has this in her backyard and when they become bushy, she will plucked them and turned it into this delicious soup with salted egg yolk – I loved them!!! Thanks for sharing, Linda.
You are welcome, Rachel! Love this soup. So tasty!
Aha, I did exactly the same thing as you did – picking those berries and bursting them between the fingers, and then staining our nails purple, pretending to have painted purple nails! Loved those vegy then and still love them now. We had them in soup as well as stir fry with ikan bilis. I like both types. Lucky you to be able to get them in Minnesota, I have yet to see them in my local Chinese store over here. Lovely pictures, as always!
Thanks for the reminder on the stir fried version with ikan bilis. I need to cook that soon. YUM! Aren’t those berries so much fun? 😉
I’ve grown Malabar spinach for years because regular spinach doesn’t like our heat and humidity here in Alabama, USA. This sounds wonderful. Will try it soon. I had no idea I could regrow from stems! Thank you for the recipe and the memories.
I have not seen purple malabar spinach in a while. Would be fun to grow them in my vegetable garden. Enjoy the soup! 🙂
Was at the Farmers’ Market in Kansas City, MO this morning and looked at the offerings. There were a lot of Hmong and Laotian farmers with stalls. Got some water spinach, which I believe is kangkung. Bought a bunch for $2 and will try frying with belacan and chilli.
Also saw some Malabar spinach but did not buy any. Will try that next time I visit the market. Will let you know how it goes.
Yes, water spinach is kangkung. I know the Hmong sell a variety with broader leaves which also made me wonder if they are kangkung. I have tried it and it tastes the same. Texture is a little different. Not as soft.
One day I will show how to stir fry Malabar spinach. Quite tasty cooked that way. 🙂
I have an abundance of Malabar Spinach in my garden this year but I didn’t know what to do with them. I looked on line for a recipe that suited my taste and I came across yours. I am a Filipino so I could sort of taste the combination of your ingredients in my head but was still skeptical. I have all the ingredients on hand except my anchovies are very old, maybe 20 yrs., but are kept in a tightly sealed jar. Surprisingly they are still fine and edible. Also, the salted duck eggs I have are already hard boiled.
I followed your recipe to the tee except I had to add more salt. It was very delicious and I will do it again when I hanker for soup. My husband is a white American and will not touch the fishy smelling soup. Good, it’s all for me.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.