Arrowroot with Cranberry Beans Soup ??????

One of the 'vegetables' that you might not be able to get from the supermarket is Fresh Arrowroot. This plant is also called Kudzu or Kuzu and ?? in Chinese. We commonly call it ?? as it has a powdery feel when you cut it. Hence, the '?', which means powder.  I was told that Arrowroot is good in dispersing Liver Heat ??.



A warning before you decide to try this. Arrowroot is very hard and you need a sharp knife, preferably a big one or a cleaver, to skin and chop it and not to mention some might. I remembered when I first bought it a couple of years ago, I ended up throwing it in the bin. :D I only had a small knife then and I just didn't have the strength to cut it. :P



But now I have the luxury of getting the seller to do it for me. ;) My bet is, they might just be the only one who would do it for their customers.



My mother in law used to cook it with lotus root ?? but the kids preferred it with cranberry beans ???. Both taste as good though.



Ingredients:

350g Arrowroot ??, skinned and cut into pieces
250g Pork Ribs
200g Cranberry Beans ???
8 Seedless Red Dates ??
1 piece Dried Octopus
a handful Wolfberries ???
1.8 litre Water
Salt to taste


How to do it:

Blanch ribs.
Put all ingredients excluding salt and wolfberries in a pot of water.
Bring to a boil and reduce a simmer.
Remove any scum that surface.
Simmer for 4-5 hours.
Add wolfberries an hour before end of simmering.
Add salt to taste.
Serve.