Watercress and red dates soup

1. Rinse watercress, then pluck the tender shoots with its leaves intact, discard the main longish stems.

2. Blanch or scald spare ribs in a boiling water for a short while. Skim away scum from water surface. Remove blanched spare ribs and discard water. This is to reduce the scum and oiliness in the soup.

3. In a clean stockpot or claypot, pour in 1200ml water and when it reaches rolling boil, put in all the ingredients into the pot. Turn to low heat and simmer for 1-2 hours.

4. Char the dried cuttlefish over the fire (I usually use my stove top) and shred the charred cuttlefish into thin long threads using hands (You can pound it using pestle and mortar to ease shredding process). Add the shredded cuttlefish into stockpot with other ingredients to impart a unique "cuttlefish" flavor to the soup. (Alternatively, you can add some pre-soaked dried scallop substituting dried cuttlefish. If you do that, just soak the dried scallop into water and shred it into thin threads, without charring).

5. Add salt to taste 5 minutes prior to turning off the flame.

Source :
http://gladyskockhomeculinary.blogspot.com/2009/10/watercress-and-red-dates-soup.html