Archive for the ‘SOUPS, STEWS, CHILI’ Category
Hot & Sour Soup
This is a Chinese soup and comes from a friend who is Chinese Malay, and it comes touted as the best and easiest, and it certainly is! I made this on 5 Sep 2022, and the family absolutely loved this! Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons corn starch, for the slurry
- 3 tablespoons cold water, for the slurry
- 2 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder, Shortcut
- 1½ cups water
- 250 grams soft tofu, cut into strips, (8 oz)
- 250 grams fresh white button mushrooms, (8 oz)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2½ tablespoons rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce, mainly for color
- 3 dashes white pepper powder, or to taste
- 1 egg, beaten
- chili oil, for spiciness, optional, to taste
- red pepper flakes, for spiciness, optional, to taste
Instructions
- Prep the mushrooms by cutting off the stems and quarter the caps.
- Next, we need to make the thickening slurry, mix the corn starch with the 3 tablespoons of cold water until well blended and no lumps. In another bowl, beat the egg. Set both of these aside.
- Next, in a small bowl, add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar, stir to mix. Set this aside.
- In a large sauce pan, add the broth and 1½ cups water, bring to a boil then add the mushrooms and tofu and let boil for 2 minutes. (I did not have tofu on hand and simply omitted that, still worked perfectly.)
- Stir the soy sauce mixture into the soup, and season with a few dashes of white pepper or to taste. Give the slurry another stir then stir that into the soup, continue stirring until just slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave on the same burner.
- Now gently stir the soup in one direction, and pour the beaten egg into soup in a gently stir and count to 10. Then using the handle end of a spoon or fork, or a pair of chop sticks, stir the soup in the same direction for 3 complete circular motions, this makes the nice egg threads in the soup. Season to taste with chili oil or flakes if desired.
- Now the soup is done, ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Chicken Broth.
Variant: 1. No tofu? No worries, substitute some cooked white beans or chickpeas, or add more mushrooms, or simply omit.
Shrimp in Coconut Milk (Ginataang Hipon)
This comes from a good friend who has traveled throughout the Philippines, which is where this originates. For the black pepper leaves, in the US, some farmers markets will sell these, if you cannot find them, fresh spinach or bok choi works well also. Two methods are listed, the alternate method is a more localized type for Thailand with added fish and using local vegetables. I made the alternate method, and it is delicious!
Ingredients
Original Method
- 1 kilo shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed, (2 lb)
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh pepper leaves, these are black pepper leaves, or any leafy vegetable like fresh spinach or bok choi.
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Alternate Method
- 500 grams shrimp, shelled, deveined, tails removed, (1 lb)
- 500 grams white fish fillets, cut into 1 inch pieces, Pangasius is perfect, (1 lb)
- 1 bag soup fixings, from local market
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon pork broth powder
- salt and black pepper, as desired
Instructions
Original Method
- In a medium pot, add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil then add the shrimp, reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and black pepper as desired.
- When the shrimp are pink (do not overcook the shrimp), remove from heat.
- Stir in the pepper leaves or other leafy vegetable, spinach or bok choi would be good choices.
- When the greens are wilted, serve.
Alternate Method
- With this method, I reduced the shrimp to 500 grams (1 lb) and added 500 grams of Pangasius, which is a nice firm white fish. Also used is a bag of soup fixings from the market, the green leafy parts in this are the leaves from a vine that grows wild and is foraged for everyday.
- Open the bag of soup fixings and give everything a good rinse. This bag contained carrot, pumpkin, bottle gourd, winter melon, leaves from a vine make up most of this, and oyster mushrooms.
- In a medium pot, add the water and coconut milk. Bring to a near boil then add the soup fixings, pork broth powder, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- When it nearly boils again, reduce to a simmer and let this cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the fish and shrimp and stir in. When the shrimp are pink (do not overcook the shrimp), just turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the burner, and cover with a lid. After about 5 minutes, the soup is done, but can remain covered while you prepare other items. I made some rice so I just let the pot sit.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy.
- I served this with a side of Persian Dill Rice.
Notes
I recently bought 1 kilo (2 lbs) of shrimp from a local vendor for 70 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about 53 cents per serving. Adding variants can increase the price slightly if decreasing the amount of shrimp, like when adding fish, but certainly less than $1 per serving.
Variant: 1. Add Straw mushrooms, sliced in half.
Chickpea & Rice Soup
Sounds like an excellent soup and another nice way to use delicious chickpeas. On my to cook and taste list. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrot, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, as desired, to taste
- black pepper, as desired, to taste
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, (15 oz), 2 cups cooked, (Shortcut)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, brown or white, your choice
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat, when hot, add the onion, carrot, celery. Cook, stirring often until the onion is tender and translucent.
- Add the garlic, thyme, turmeric, red pepper flakes (if using), the 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the bay leaf. Stir together and cook the mixture for 1 minute.
- Add the broth and chickpeas, stir to mix, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer then cover let this cook 20 minutes, stir occasionally.
- Remove the bay leaf then add the cooked rice and stir into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes to warm the rice through.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Shortcut: Chickpeas (Pressure Cooker).
Variant: 1. If cooking the chickpeas from dry using the shortcut, you can make bean broth to use in place of vegetable broth.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Soup Fixings in a Bag
This is a Thai thing and throughout Asia, and I am assuming a product like this is available in the US. Many village markets will have the 'fixings' in a bag, you add meat to make broth, add the contents of the bag, and you have a nice soup. Instead of buying the fixings separately, some vendors buy all the various ingredients, assemble the bags, and everything is used. They make stir fry bags the same way. And the beauty of these bags is the price, just 15 Baht (46 cents) or 25 Baht (78 cents) with the egg tofu tube.
Ingredients
- 1 bag soup fixings
- meat, of choice, pork, chicken, and fish is commonly used
- broth
- 1 tube egg tofu, optional (it may or may not be in the bag)
- salt, as desired, to taste
Instructions
The Soup Fixings
- This is a typical bag of soup fixings. This contains bok choi, carrot, pumpkin, mushrooms (Enoki, Oyster, or Ear Wood), bottle gourd, and winter melon. The ingredients vary by who is putting this together, many folks have their own types of flavors they add which makes soup bags different from village to village, or stall to stall in a market. Many of the bags will also contain a tube of egg tofu, which will increase the price of the bag by 10 Baht.
- Remove the tube of egg tofu from the soup fixings bag, and add the soup fixings to a colander and give that a quick rinse. To use the egg tofu, slice off one end of the tube and pinch the other end and the tofu will slide right out. Slice the tofu into about 1/2 inch slices, set that aside.
Using Chicken, Pork, or even Sausage
- For chicken, cut several breasts into cubes or even boneless thighs. For pork ribs, cut the ribs between each bone, for pork shoulder, just cut into cubes. Pork loin may be a bit to lean for a soup. For sausage, just slice into 1/2 - 3/4 inch pieces. Amount is up to you, 250-500 grams (1/2 - 1 lb) is a good choice.
- Add the meat to a pot and add 1 quart of water and more if needed to cover the meat by an inch or so. Bring the pot to a boil and hold that for about 2-3 minutes.
- When the water is boiling in the pot, there, you are making the soup broth, see, very easy, then add the rinsed soup fixings but not the tofu. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the carrot is tender and meat of your choice is cooked through.
Using Fish, Shrimp, and or Imitation Crab
- You can use any boneless skinless whitefish of your choice, cut into bite size pieces. For shrimp, peel, devein, and remove the tails. For imitation crab, just remove the packaging wrappers and cut into 1 inch pieces.
- Heat about a quart of water to a boil with two broth cubes, either vegetable or mushroom cubes work well.
- Once the water is at a boil, add the rinsed soup fixings, reduce to a simmer until the carrot is just tender, then add the fish, shrimp, and or imitation crab. Simmer until the fish flakes easily, just a few minutes. This can be served as a main dish as is, with rice on the side, or as a side dish.
Broth or Stock without Meat
- Simply add about a quart of broth or stock, chicken, pork, vegetable, mushroom, or even bean broth to a pot and bring to a boil.
- Once the water is at a boil, add the rinsed soup fixings, reduce to a simmer until the carrot is just tender. This can be served as a main dish as is, with rice on the side, or as a side dish.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Commonly used throughout Thailand and Asia.
Sausage & Chickpea Stew
Sounds like a great use for chickpeas (Chicken Beans as my wife calls them, which is the actual Thai translation) and I will use my homemade sausage for this as well. On my to make and taste list. The use of the Shortcuts is highly recommended to reduce costs and make it more 'homemade'. Links to the Shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 340-500 grams Italian sausage, see Step 2., (12-16 oz), (Shortcut)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 cups stock or broth, see Step 1.
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (15 oz cans), or 3 cups cooked, (Shortcut)
- 280 grams frozen spinach, or fresh Bok Choi, (10 oz)
- salt and pepper, as desired, to taste
- 8 slices bread, toasted, optional
Instructions
- For the stock or broth. 1. If you are using canned chickpeas, use 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock. If making the chickpeas from dry using the shortcut, use 2 cups of bean broth.
- For the sausage, feel free to use bulk or links, or make yourself with the shortcut. If using links, just remove the casings and proceed as normal, breaking the meat up when you cook it.
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat, when hot, add the onion, cook until softened, the add the sausage and break it up with a spatula as it cooks.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes, while stirring.
- Add the cilantro and parley, stir and cook for another 1 minute.
- Add the chickpeas and broth then bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the spinach and reduce to reduce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot, and stir often with a fork to let the spinach separate. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
- If using the toasted bread, and a slice or two to each serving bowl or even tear up the toast first. Ladle the soup into the bowls and serve.
Notes
Tomato Egg Drop Soup
This is a Chinese soup and a light broth, unlike tomato soups in the west. This comes from a good friend in Sichuan, China, and so far, her recipes are perfect. There is as many ways to make an egg drop soup, this one uses no chicken stock. I look forward to making this and of course, tasting it.
Ingredients
- 2 large tomatoes
- 4 cups water, (1 quart)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely minced or grated
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1 spring onion, sliced, white and green, for garnish
- fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Core and dice one tomato. The other tomato, core and slice. Add the eggs to a bowl and beat with a fork.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil, when hot, add the diced tomato and cook until the oil turns red.
- Add the 4 cups of water and the ginger to the pot and bring to a boil, then add the white pepper, soy sauce, and tomato slices.
- While waiting for the soup to boil, mix together the corn starch and 3 tablespoons of water to make a thickening slurry. When the soup is boiling, stir in the slurry.
- Drizzle in the beaten eggs, if you want smaller egg pieces, slowly stir while adding the eggs, for large egg pieces, called flowers, do not stir, just drizzle in, when the egg is set, then stir.
- Once the soup is stirred after adding the eggs, remove from heat, stir in some of the spring onion and coriander.
- Ladle into serving bowls and top each with remaining spring onion and coriander. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Bean Sprouts with Meatballs
This recipe comes from a good friend in China, this is an easy home-style tomato meatball and bean sprout soup. Popular in the Szechuan region. This soup sounds delicious and is on my cook and taste list.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 250 grams ground pork, (1/2 lb)
- 2 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts
- 1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 egg, chicken or duck
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
For the Soup Base
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 large tomato
- 150 grams bean sprouts, (5 oz)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, finely minced, or smashed in a mortar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 quarts water
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- Add the hot water to a small bowl, and place the ginger and spring onion in the water and let that steep. Wait for about 20 minutes or until the water has cooled. You will be using the water only, not the ginger or spring onion. When the water has cooled, drain and retain the water from the ginger and spring onion. Discard the spring onion and ginger.
- In a mixing bowl, add the ground pork, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and egg. Add about 1/3 of the ginger water (just eyeball it, no need to measure this). Mix by hand until the well combined and the water fully incorporated into the mixture. Add another 1/3 cup of the ginger water and mix again.
- Sprinkle in the corn starch and the remaining ginger water, mix until fully incorporated.
For the Soup Base
- Prep the tomato but coring then cutting half from top to bottom. Dice half of the tomato, and cut the other half into wedges. Set the wedges aside.
- Heat the oil in a large pot, when hot, add the diced tomato until soft, then add the ginger and cook for 30 seconds, then add the water and 1/3 of the bean sprouts. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let this cook for 25-30 minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out the meat mixture and form into meatballs. Set on a plate and set aside.
- After the soup has simmered, add the remaining bean sprouts, drop in the meatballs. When the meatballs float, add the tomato wedges, taste and season with salt to taste. Simmer the soup for another 2-3 minutes.
- Serve.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Variant: 1. Use Enoki mushroom in place of or with the bean sprouts.
Chicken Stew
This comes from a good friend and sounds delicious, and I think the Thai family will enjoy this. On my to cook and taste list.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, and diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 5 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon sage
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
- 4 cups chicken broth, fresh or from powder
- 1 cup green beans, or peas
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot, when hot, and the chicken and lightly brown and no longer pink, it does not need to be cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the pot, when hot, add the celery, onion, and carrot and cook until the onion is soft, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes.
- Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of the flour and stir into the vegetables. Stir in the rosemary, thyme, and sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste, as desired. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, bell pepper, chicken, wine, and broth and stir to mix. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the green beans, or peas, and stir in the cream.
- If want to thicken the stew, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 cup of cold water or broth, stir to combine and there is no lumps, this is your thickening slurry. Bring the stew up to a boil, slowly pour in the slurry while stirring, boil for a few minutes to thicken the stew.
- Ladle into serving bowls and serve. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost per serving.
Inspired by Spend With Pennies and the link to this recipe is here.
United States.
United States.
Chickpea Noodle Soup
Don't let the name fool you, although this is written as a vegetable soup, lots of variants so you can tailor this to be your signature soup. Link to the Shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 2-3 medium carrots, sliced thin
- 4 stalks celery, sliced thin
- 6-8 sprigs fresh thyme, or 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 quarts vegetable broth, (8 cups)
- 250 grams dry spiral pasta, (8 oz)
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained, (Shortcut)
- salt and pepper, as desired
- chopped parsley, for garnish, if desired
- saltine crackers, for serving, if desired
- celery tops, chopped, optional
Instructions
- Prep all the veggies. Since I do not like waste, I also chop the celery tops and add those in at the end.
- Heat the oil in a pot on medium heat, when hot add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring often until the onion is softened but not browned.
- Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta and chickpeas, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the pasta is tender, about 10-20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- If using the celery tops, go ahead and stir those in and simmer for 2-3 minutes to wilt them.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley if desired, serve with saltine crackers or bread if desired and a main dish of your choice. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Chickpeas (Pressure Cooker).
Variants: 1. Use chicken, mushroom, or bean broth (from chickpeas). 2. Use any bite size pasta, or even egg noodles. 3. Add cooked chopped chicken. 4. Add mushrooms.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Cowboy Soup
This recipe comes from a good friend in Northern Thailand, and it sounds delicious. On my to make list. This can be make with canned items or from what I call shortcuts. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 1 can Pinto beans, drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked if made from a Shortcut
- 1 can tomato sauce, or 1 1/2 cups if made from a Shortcut
- 4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
- 1 can diced tomatoes, or 1 can whole peeled then chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- fresh parsley, chopped, as desired
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a saucepan and heat on medium heat, stir occasionally, until piping hot.
- Serve with cornbread if desired. Enjoy.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcuts: Pinto Beans (Pressure Cooker), Tomato Sauce.
Recipe provided by good friend, Kurt Hammerschmidt. Thailand.
