Pumpkin pork ribs soup with shiitake mushrooms

I have never really eaten pumpkin as a child. Somehow I do not recall my mum cooking pumpkin at all. I only remembered the sinful stuffs like chicken wings and curry etc. Yet when my son started taking solids, I was told that pumpkin is good. We gave him pumpkin porridge then slowly I incorporated pumpkin into our weekly soup menu. Here is one really simple yet tasty soup to share.

Ingredients
300g Pumpkin
4 Dried Shiitake mushrooms
250g Pork ribs
Salt

Recipe
1. Soak the dried mushrooms in water till softened. Discard the water.
2. Cut the pumpkin into big chucks and remove the skin. (You can leave the skin on if you wash it really clean)  Don't cut it too small as it will soften and disintegrate easily after cooking.

3. Wash the pork ribs and blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes till the scum is floating. Remove the scum and rinse the pork ribs again. This is to produce a clear soup.
4. Place the mushrooms, pumpkin and pork ribs into slow cooker and add hot water to cover the ingredients and turn the knob to auto-mode. I leave it in auto-mode when I go for work. After I come home, I would season with a little salt before serving.
*5. Alternatively, you can place all the ingredients in the pot and add water and cook till it is boiling. Reduce the fire and allow it to simmer for about 1-2 hours. Only season with salt before serving.

I love the taste of this soup as you can get the mushroom fragrance and the sweetness of pumpkin in a bowl. You can also make a few variations with pumpkins. Sometimes I would cook with just pumpkin and add some red dates. Or you can add apples to make apple pumpkin soup which is really sweet. Enjoy!