Pork Rib and Corn Soup

Pork rib and corn soup is the slow soup of Cantonese home cooking, a clear pot that simmers for a couple of hours until the ribs soften and the corn turns sweet. Red dates and goji berries add their gentle, fruity depth, a hallmark of old-school Cantonese soups. It is the first course of countless family dinners, ladled out before anyone touches the rice, and every Cantonese home has a soup like this simmering on weekends. It needs almost no attention once it is simmering, just time.

A clear, sweet broth made slowly

The broth is pale gold and naturally sweet, with the corn and carrots doing the heavy lifting; the ribs give it body without heaviness. It is a soup to be sipped, not gulped — clean, warming, and quietly nourishing. Blanch the ribs first to keep the broth clear, skim as it simmers, and know that it is even better the next day, when the flavors have settled.

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