I was introduced to Kidney Ginger Soup by my wife. All along, my encounter with pig’s kidney is in the stir fries which I absolutely love. So, having kidney soup was new to me and took some getting used to. The taste is slightly hot due to the liberal use of julienned ginger and I believe this soup is suitable to aid “releasing of air”, if you know what I mean

Preparation of pig’s kidney for cooking can be an unpleasant experience for the uninitiated. The smell can be a bit offensive and might turn you off completely for after all, the end product of kidney goes south. Worry not however as after cooking, all memories of the offense evaporates

Anyway, when you buy the kidneys, ask the butcher to slice the kidney to remove the middle part which looks like some white netting. Wash it thoroughly. You might want to consider soaking the kidney in water with some slices of ginger. After soaking and changing the water 2 or 3 times, which should take you about 2 hours, make shallow cuts across the kidney without fully cutting the kidney. Make criss-cross patterns and then, cut them into bite sizes before cooking.

This is my wife’s recipe for Kidney Ginger Soup

Ingredients

• 1 piece pig’s kidney (prepared as immediate paragraph above)
• 3 cm ginger (julienned thinly)
• 3 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• 1 stalk spring onions (finely cut)
• 4 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
• 500 ml hot water
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (palm oil preferred)

Seasoning

• ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
• ½ tablespoon brandy

Method

Heat oil in wok and sauté ginger and garlic till aromatic on medium heat. Add kidneys and sear them well before adding water.

Allow water to boil for about 1 ½ minutes, add seasoning and spring onions before dishing up.

Serve hot.