What kind of soup comes with a dry noodle bowl at an authentic Chinese restaurant?

Question

I know it is a pretty vague question, but when I go to this really authentic Chinese noodle house to get lunch, I always order a dry bowl of noodles that comes with a small cup of this pork soup that looks just like pork broth. The only difference is that it tastes incredible. Theres nothing in it besides liquid, and I can't ask what it is because nobody speaks English. The only reason I know its pork is because the Lady just says PORK! when I ask what it is.

Can anyone help me out and give me a recipe, or the name of the soup so i can find a recipe?

Answer 1

maybe it's pork lomi? does it has a sticky sauce with mixture of egg and brown color?

Answer 2

It's very vague because there are many varieties of Chinese soups. One way is to go with a Chinese friend who can then translate for you. Note that a pork or chicken soup is unlikely to be cooked with only that meat. The flavor from Chinese soups comes from boiling various ingredients, the most essential being meat with bones eg. whole chickens (old hens are the best), chicken carcasses, pork ribs, pork soup bones (usually leg & knuckles). This lays the foundation for the depth of flavor and intense taste.

For added richness & complexity, other common ingredients are dried seafood (scallops, shrimps, squid, oysters, anchovies) that are soaked for at least a few hours, dried seaweed, Chinese ham (Jinhua ham is the best). For most soups, the use of dried scallops is enough & gives a more mellow & balanced taste. A few slices of ginger & garlic cloves or bunch of spring onions helps to round off the taste & smell of stronger ingredients.

For a clear broth, you need to blanch any meat & bones used for a few minutes, then rinse well to remove any scum & discard the water. While boiling the soup at low/medium heat for a few hours, you need to constantly skim off any scum floating on top. At the end, flavor to taste with some salt or soya sauce & Chinese rice wine, a few drops of sesame oil also increases the fragrance. For really clear soup, you can strain the soup. To remove the oil, the best way is to chill in the fridge which makes removing the solidified oil easy and the soup would also have more time to further develop the flavor.

Each restaurant would have their own way of doing soups & stocks, so there's no standard recipe. With trial & error and knowledge of basic ingredients, you can produce your own unique Chinese clear soup which can also be used to cook stews, as a base for other soups and for stir-frying.