Chinese Mustard Green Soup (Gai Choy) Recipe (with Video)

Prepare the ingredients
1. Give the dried scallops a rinse, then soak them in 1 cup of hot water. Cover to let rehydrate.
2. Once they have softened enough (10-15 min), shred them into smaller pieces. Save the soaking water to use for the soup.
3. Bring a pot of water (enough to cover the pork bones) to boil, then blanch the pork bones for 3-5 minutes.
4. You should see plenty of scum float to the top. Discard the water, and give the pork bones and the pot a good rinse.
Make the soup and prepare the rest of the ingredients
1. Peel then lightly smash the knob of ginger with the side of your knife.
2. Into the clean pot, add the blanched pork bones, rehydrated and shredded scallops, the soaking water, the ginger, and another 11 cups of water.
3. Bring it all to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
4. Skim off any extra scum on the surface.
5. Cover and let simmer for 45-60 minutes.
6. In the meantime, prep the vegetables. For the mustard greens, slice off the end of the stem, then separate the branching leaves from the main stem.
7. Slice into ~2 inch bite-sized pieces, or to your preference.
8. Submerge the mustard greens into a large bowl of water.
9. Optionally, add 1 tsp of salt to the water to help it rid of any bugs and dirt.
10. Keep submerged while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
11. Peel the carrot, then slice into 1 inch pieces.
12. Prepare the salted egg by separating the yolks and whites.
13. With a kitchen scissor or knife, cut the yolks into quarters.
14. Drain and rinse the mustard greens until they’re free of dirt and particles.
15. After the soup has been simmering for 45-60 minutes, the pork should be tender (the longer it simmers, the more tender it will be).
16. Add in the carrots, mustard green (stems only), and salted egg yolks.
17. Add in the salted egg whites by slowly pouring them into the pot while stirring the soup.
18. Bring the soup back up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
19. Let simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots are fork tender.
20. Optionally, add in neutral oil to the soup. This will help keep the mustard green leaves vibrant.
21. Add the mustard green leaves. These only need a few minutes.
22. Season the soup with salt to your taste (start with less, then add more if needed). Enjoy!