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Delicious, easy, and nourishing apple pork ribs soup recipe with Chinese herbs are easily made with Instant Pot pressure cooker, slow cooker, or on the stove.
NOURISHING CHINESE APPLE SOUP
The Chinese believe that apple soup cooked with Chinese herbs is nourishing to the body. Like the popular saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. The apple also adds a natural sweetness to the soup. My mom made us this apple pork ribs soup pretty often when we were kids. My mom often said that this soup is good for nourishing the body and for getting rid of cough and cold.
INGREDIENTS FOR APPLE PORK RIBS SOUP
1. PORK RIBS: I bought a slab of pork ribs and then separate into an individual rib. Choose the one with less fat if possible or you can trim off excess fat.
2. APPLE: You can use any apple you like. I have tried making these soup with several different kinds and I like them best with Honey Crisp or Fuji Apples.
3. GARLIC: Use fresh garlic if possible. The garlic will be peeled and then cooked in whole. It adds a nice flavor to the soup.
4. CHINESE DRIED RED DATES: The red dates also add some sweetness to the soup. Lots of Chinese soup recipe usually call for Chinese dried red dates.
5. DRIED LOTUS SEEDS: These seeds are high in B complex and other minerals and I love lotus seeds in soup. They can be slightly crunchy if you don’t cook them to the point of soft. I like them either way, soft or slightly crunchy.
6. DRIED GOJI BERRIES: Goji berries are so widely available now. I got mine from Costco and they are organic and unsulfured too.
HOW TO COOK CHINESE APPLE PORK RIBS SOUP WITH PRESSURE COOKER, SLOW COOKER OR ON THE STOVE
1. PREPARE THE APPLES: (updates) Remove the wax from the skin of the apples. Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Add whole apples in there and roll them around for 15-20 seconds. We don’t want to cook the apples. We just want to remove the wax from the apples. Remove from the water and wipe dry with clean kitchen towel. The skin will look dull now without the wax. You can leave the peels on the apples or peel them off. Cut into quarters and discard the apple seeds. Soak in water with 1/2 tsp of salt to prevent browning. Then discard water and rinse the apple to get rid of salt
2. PREPARE PORK RIBS : Blanch the pork ribs in boiling water for 5 minutes and then remove the scum
3. ADD EVERYTHING: Put the pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients inside the inner pot of instant pot or a large pot if cooking on the stove. You can add the apples together with everything if you don’t mind the apples are all soft and mushy. 
4. ADD JUST ENOUGH WATER: Add just enough water until it covers everything
5. COOKING:
For Instant Pot pressure cooker: cover the lid and turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Press the pressure cooker button and make sure it’s on a high and set the timer to 40 minutes for large ribs (Mine wasn’t cut into smaller pieces). If yours are cut into small pieces, you may only need 15 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and then release pressure. Add the apple pieces if you haven’t already. Turn on the saute mode and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the apple pieces are soft but don’t fall apart. Turn off the saute mode and stir in the goji berries. You don’t want to overcook the goji berries because they can turn sour
For stove-top: Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to let it gently simmer for the next 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the ribs are tender. If the ribs are in small pieces, you may only need 15-20 minutes or until the meat is tender. Add the apple pieces (if you haven’t added yet) and cook for another 10 minutes or until they are soft but don’t fall apart. Turn off the heat and stir in the goji berries. You don’t want to overcook the goji berries because they can turn sour
6. SEASON: Season the soup with salt to your taste
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
PROTEIN: You can use chicken, pork loin
CHINESE HERBS OR INGREDIENTS: You can use or add different kinds of Chinese herbs or ingredients such as: ginger, ginseng, snow fungus, dried longan, dried black dates, etc. In the video, I used honey dates, red dates, sweet apricot kernels.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT LEFTOVER APPLE PORK RIBS SOUP
Storing: Keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Simply reheat on the stove by bringing to a boil until heated through or in the microwave
DID YOU MAKE THIS CHINESE APPLE PORK RIBS SOUP RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
*Recipe is written for 6-quart Instant Pot. Cooking time should remain the same for 8-quart size but will take longer to pressurize. For mini duo (3-quart), I recommend to half the recipe and use the same amount of time to cook. Cooking time doesn’t change because the time is based on the size of your pot not the quantity of the food*
Chinese Apple Pork Ribs Soup (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, Stove-top)
Ingredients
- 500 gr pork ribs cut into individual rib
- 2 large apples I recommend red apples like Fuji or honey crisp
- 8 cloves garlic peeled and slightly smashed
- 2 dried squid/cuttlefish or 10 dried scallops
- water chicken broth for richer taste, enough to cover
- Salt to taste
Suggested Chinese herbs:
- 10 pieces red dates or use 2 large honey dates
- 25-30 pieces lotus seeds
- 1 Tbsp sweet apricot kernels
- ¼ cup goji berries
Garnishes:
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- Small bunch of cilantro leaves for garnish
Seasoning:
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Clean the dried Chinese herbs:
- Rinse the red dates, lotus seeds, and goji berries briefly with water
Prepare the apples:
- New update: Remove the wax from the skin of the apples. Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil. Add whole apples in there and roll them around for 15-20 seconds. We don't want to cook the apples. We just want to remove the wax from the apples. Remove from the water and wipe dry with clean kitchen towel. The skin will look dull now without the wax
- You can leave the peels on the apples or peel them off. Cut into quarters and discard the apple seeds. Soak them in water with 1 tsp of salt to prevent browning. Then discard water and rinse the apples with clean water to get rid of salt
Blanching the pork ribs:
- Place pork ribs in a large pot. Add in water until it covers the pork ribs. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and discard the water. Rinse the pork ribs with cold water. Rinse the pot clean with water as well
Cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:
- Put the pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients, except for the apples (new update, not reflected in the video), inside the inner pot of instant pot, except for goji berries.
- Put the pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients, except for goji berries, inside the inner pot of instant pot or a large pot if cooking on the stove. You can add the apples together with everything if you don't mind the apples are all soft and mushy. You can also add them in later. Add water until it covers everything
- Cover the lid and turn steam release valve to “sealing”. Press pressure cooker button and make sure it’s on high and set timer to 40 minutes. If your ribs are in small pieces, you may only need 15 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and then release pressure. Add the apple pieces if you have not already. Turn on the saute mode and cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the apple pieces are soft but doesn't fall apart. Turn off the saute mode and stir in the goji berries. You don't want to overcook the goji berries because they can turn sour
Cooking with slow cooker:
- Put the pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients, except for the goji berries. You can add the apples together with everything if you don't mind the apples are all soft and mushy. You can also add them in later. Add water until it covers everything inside the inner pot of the slow cooker. Add the apple pieces in the last 15-20 minutes of cooking if you have not already. You don't want to overcook the goji berries because they can turn sour
Cooking on the stove:
- Put the pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients, except for the goji berries. You can add the apples together with everything if you don't mind the apples are all soft and mushy. You can also add them in later.
- Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours if the ribs are in big piece. If the ribs are in small pieces, you may only need 15-20 minutes or until the meat is tender. Add the apple pieces and cook for another 10 minutes if you haven't already. Turn off the heat and stir in the goji berries. You don't want to overcook the goji berries because they can turn sour
Season to taste:
- Season the soup with salt to your taste
22 comments
May I know why you changed the way Apple is added? You used to cook it for the whole duration with rest of the ingredients. Now, you add it later. I find the soup far less sweet. Is it just preference or is it to harness the vitamins? Thanks.
Hi KK, It’s more of a preference. I find that the apples turn into a mush when I cook them for that long but you can certainly cook them together from the beginning and yes the soup will be sweeter that way. There’s no right or wrong, as long as you don’t mind the apples are no longer visible in the soup