Soups for toddlers

Two tasty soups for toddlers:

1. Gnocchi shrimps soup with white turnip

This soup allows your child to experience a broad variation of flavors. Shrimps are a good resource of proteins, the gnocchi contain a good amount of carbohydrates which your child needs for the development of its brain. Turnip is rich in various vitamins like Vitamin A, C, and especially K. Vitamin K is very important for the binding of calcium in bone.

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- Gnocchi, one portion (please refer to How to make Chinese Gnocchi)

- white turnip 1.5 ounces / 40g peeled and chopped into small cubes

- fresh shrimps 1 ounce / 30g

- one egg beaten

- ginger chopped into tiny pieces

- Cooking Oil

How to cook:

1. Add cooking oil into a pan, use medium heat to heat up, add ginger inside, stir fry for about 10-15 seconds until the smell comes out

2. Add turnip pieces and shrimps, stir fry for 2-3 minutes

3. Then add water make it into a soup, do not add too much water, otherwise it would be too liquid, and boil for 10-15 minutes

4. Add Gnocchi, then add the beaten egg, stir so that the egg mixes well with the soup, until the egg is cooked, then it is ready to serve

2. Gnocchi courgette egg soup

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- Gnocchi one portion (please refer to How to make Chinese Gnocchi)

- courgette or zucchini 1 ounce/ 30g cut into thin slices

- one egg beaten

- white button mushrooms 0.5 ounces / 15g cut into small pieces

- 1 teaspoon of Ginger Juice. I like to use the one from Ginger People because of its nice "gingery" taste.

- spring onion or chives cut into small pieces

- sesame oil

How to cook:

Sesame Oil

1. Add water in a pot, add courgette and mushroom pieces

2. Use medium to low heat and boil for 6-8 minutes, until the courgette pieces are soft

3. Put Gnocchi inside

4. Pour the beaten egg inside, stir until the egg is mixed well with the rest of the  ingredients, wait till it starts to boil, then turn off heat

5. Garnish with spring onion/chives, a few drops of sesame oil

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Porridge recipe for baby

Vegetable pork egg porridge

This porridge recipe for baby contains everything your child needs to grow up! The Pork and egg are rich in protein and the vegetables in this porridge provide your baby with lots of vitamins and trace metals.

age: above 8 months



Ingredients:

- 1.7 ounces / 50g of Rice. My usual choice is  Jasmati Rice. Check out the Amazon link to see what others think about this wonderful and tasty rice.

Ginger Juice

- water about 1.7 cups / 400 ml

- minced pork 0.3-0.4 ounces / 10g

- vegetable 0.5 ounces / 15g cut into small pieces: can be chosen from a wide range of leaf vegetables, e.g. Pak Choi, Chinese cabbage, spinach, etc.


- one raw egg yolk, beaten to the consistency similar to make scrambled egg

- 1 teaspoon ginger juice (can also be produced by pressing ginger in garlic press)

- Corn Starch

- Some drops of La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil. Of course you can use other brands as well but I really like the one from La Tourangelle because of its great flavor. 

How to cook:

1. Marinate the minced pork with ginger juice, a small teaspoon of corn starch, 1-2 teaspoons of water

2. Add rice and water into rice cooker, and use slow cooking option to cook until you cannot see the shape of the rice (some rice cookers have a “porridge” option). If you do not own a rice cooker, just use a pot to cook, cover the pot and use low heat, it will take around 1-2 hours until it is ready.

Rice Cooker

3. The time to add minced pork into your rice cooker is when the rice and water mixture inside starts to boil, then stir so that the meat mixes well with the rice

4. When the porridge is about to be cooked, add vegetable pieces, continue to cook until the vegetable pieces are soft

5. Add egg yolk, stir until the porridge is boiling again

6. Add a few drops of sesame oil

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Soup recipes for babies

Two healthy and easy to cook soup recipes for babies:

1. Chinese chicken soup

This is a common delicious Chinese soup that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Your baby can drink the soup and eat the fully cooked vegetables. Your child can also eat the meat if you cut it into small pieces after the chicken is ready. This soup is healthy and can help you to recover quicker when you get a cold. The soup itself can also be used as an ingredient for other baby/toddler recipes.

age: above 8 months

Ingredients:

- one corn-fed chicken or guinea fowl

- 4-5 slices ginger

Goji Berries

- 20 pieces of Goji berries


- 6-8 pieces of red Chinese Red Dates

- 15 pieces of Shiitake Mushrooms (can use fresh ones or dried ones, if you are using dried ones, wash them and soak them in water overnight)

- Optional: carrots, potatoes, sweet corn, yam

How to cook:

1. Put the washed chicken in a pot, then fill with cold water, the water level should be just above the chicken so that the whole chicken is soaked in water

2. Use strong heat until the water starts to boil, then use a spoon to get rid of the foam on the surface of the soup, then put in ginger, Goji berries, mushrooms, dates

3. Use low heat to cook for one hour, if you are using guinea fowl, then it will take probably 1.5 to 2 hours

4. Optional: you can also put in sweet corn, carrots, potatoes or yam. Carrots can be put in together with the ingredients in step 2, potatoes and yams need to be put in when the soup is about to be ready as they do not need to be cooked for very long time before they get soft.

Young babies cannot eat salty food, so take some soup out for your little one. For other family members, you can add a little salt and pepper and spring onion pieces in the soup.


2. Pork rib soup

age: above 8 months

Pork ribs can be combined with a lot of different ingredients to make delicious soup, but they are all easy to cook, and it is a nice addition to a meal for the whole family. Here are some examples for different kinds of rib soup:

Rib and sweet corn soup (carrots and/or potatoes can be an optional ingredient)

Rib and yam soup (carrots can be an optional ingredients)

Rib and lotus root soup (which is ideal for summer/autumn)

 Rib and white turnip soup (which is ideal for winter)

Rib and Seaweed soup (use dried kelp or kombu seaweed, they need to be washed and soaked in water for a night before use)

Rib soup with tomato and potato

Rib and mung bean soup (seaweed can be added as an optional ingredient, you should soak the mung beans for a night so that they will be easier to cook)

Ingredients:

The main ingredients for this soup are pork ribs. The ribs should be cut into small pieces. The quantity varies as it depends on how many people are going to eat the soup. The quantity of the secondary ingredient should be 1/3 to ½ of the ribs you want to use. Below I list some common ingredients which are needed for all the soups:

- pork ribs

- ginger 3-5 slices

- Goji Berries about 15 pieces (for the first five soups only)

- Chinese Red Dates about 6 pieces (for the first five soups only)

- optional: potatoes, yams, carrots, etc. (see examples above)

All the mentioned soup variations are easy to cook and have similar cooking procedures:

How to cook:

1. Put the rib pieces in a pot and add water, the amount of water should cover the ribs and other ingredients. Use strong heat to cook until the water starts to boil. Then use a spoon to get rid of the foam on the surface of the water.

2. Cut secondary ingredient into cubes (seaweed into pieces), and add into the pot (if your chosen soup contains white turnip or potato or yam, then they should be added when the soup is about to be ready), as well as ginger, goji berries and dates. Use low heat to cook for 1 hour to 1.5 hour

3. Take some soup and yam/carrots/turnip for your little one, the rest for the family can be salted and garnish with spring onion pieces.

Tipp: if you are cooking rib and tomato and potato soup, it is better to stir fry the tomato pieces in a pan with some cooking oil until the juice is out, then put it together with the ribs, the flavor will be better.

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Toddler meal ideas

Some toddler meal ideas that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

1. Steamed pork with soup

This is a healthy and delicious dish. Because it is steamed it is not oily and only slightly flavoured. It is a popular food for people of all ages especially and originates from Hubei province in China.

age: above 12 months

Ingredients:

- minced pork 7 ounces / 200g

- half teaspoon of Ginger Juice

- Corn Starch 1 ½ teaspoons

- some Soy Sauce

- salt

- some Sesame Oil

- chives/spring onion cut into small pieces

How to cook:

Mix minced pork with corn starch, ginger juice and soy sauce

1. Mix the minced pork, corn starch and the ginger juice with one teaspoon of soy sauce and 2 teaspoons water. Make sure all ingredients are well mixed.

Form a layer of meat inside the bowl

2. Put the mixture in a bowl (which you will be using in the steamer), and use a tablespoon to press the mixture along the bowl's side so that it forms a layer that sticks to the bowl from inside, leave about a half inch / 1cm empty space to the rim of the bowl and make a hole in the middle at the bottom (like in the  picture above)

Add water

3. Add water to a level until the meat is covered

4. Steam for 15-20 minutes using a Steamer until it is fully cooked (if your rice cooker has a steam tray, then you can steam it while you cook rice)

5. Add a few drops of sesame oil, another teaspoon of soy sauce and some chives 

2. Assorted Tofu

This is a perfect dish to eat with some rice. Your child will benefit from both plant and animal protein, as well as vegetable fibers.

age: above 12 motnhs

Ingredients:

- Tofu 3-4 ounces / 100g cut into small cubes

- minced pork/beef/or a mixture of both 1 ounce / 30g

- 1 carrot cut into small cubes

- 3 leafs Chinese cabbage cut into small pieces

- 2 cups of Clear Soup

- Corn Starch

- half a teaspoon of Ginger Juice

- salt

How to cook:

1. Mix the minced meat with ginger juice, salt and half of a teaspoon corn starch, leave for 15 minutes.

2. Put the soup in a pot, then add carrots, boil until carrots are soft, then put Chinese leaf and Tofu inside, cook until Chinese leaf is soft, sprinkle some salt

3. If you want to thicken the soup, put 1/3 of a teaspoon corn starch into 3-4 tablespoon water, mix well, then put into the boiling soup, continue to cook and stir for one minute.

3. Rice

Rice is a good source of carbohydrates, Vitamin B3, B5, B6, Manganese, Phosphorus and Zinc. These are vital nutrition for our daily life.


I normally cook white rice (fragrant jasmine rice) together with millet and polenta (corn grits). This makes the cooked rice a nice mixture of white and yellow color, which is more appealing to children. On the nutrition side, millet and polenta are both rich in B vitamins, millet is also rich in iron. They can compensate the nutrition of rice and make it more nutrition-balanced.

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