6 posts tagged “soup”

If you read my post on pistachio caramels, you'll remember that I had some temperature issues that weekend. It was so warm in my air condition-less apartment, that my first batch of caramels started getting all melty and greasy. Definitely not suitable for the public. I was heartbroken, but there was work to be done, so I shoved the rejects into the cupboard to deal with later on. Later on arrived and I thought back to a soy caramel sauce that I had had at Ludobites a few months ago. I believe that theirs had accompanied a fish dish. Another savory and sweet winning combination. For the soy caramel sauce, I simply melted down the caramels and added a few dashes of soy sauce. That's it. Easy enough, right?
I had a few pounds of oxtails in the freezer that I had been dying to use. Oxtails are one of my favorite foods in the world. Top five for sure. The meat is extremely tender and full of gelatinous goodness. I braised the oxtails in my soy caramel sauce, red wine, onions, carrots and celery. After a six hour braise the meat was falling off the bones and the yummy gelatin in the bones had flavored the broth nicely. I skimmed the fat from the broth and reduced it to concentrate the flavors. It would serve as the base to my noodle soup. Chestnut noodles lent just the right amount of sweetness. Here's the assembly of the bowl... Swirl a nest of fresh pasta into the bottom of the bowl, sprinkle with blanched rainbow carrots, add baby mizuna leaves and shredded napa cabbage to the bowl (it'll get wilted when it's swirled in by the eater), garnish with scallions and finally add a ladle of broth. Brush oxtail meat with the caramel sauce and place it on top of the noodles. I removed my meat from the bones, just because I had some squeamish eaters coming over.

This meal get an A+ for slurpability! I still have tons of soy caramel sauce left. Any ideas guys?

If you've ever been to Mammoth Lakes, than you've surely passed by the infamous Schat's Bakkery in Bishop, CA.  Whenever I head out this way, I look forward to the excellent snow conditions and, of course, lunch at Schat's. They have great fresh baked breads and other goodies. A carboholics paradise.
On my way back from snowboarding, I picked up a loaf of their signature "Original Chili Cheeze Bread". It was a tough decision, but you can't go wrong with cheese, right? Thank goodness my episode of lactose intolerance has passed.... phew! I don't know what I'd do without cheese. The bread, once reheated briefly in the oven, went perfectly with our mugs of comforting cheddar potato soup. What a great dipping bread with its toasty crust, gooey jack cheese spiral and slight chili kick. Simple post-snowboarding meal for a girl that's ready for some serious couch potato time.
BTW, do you love the monogrammed mugs or what? I'm J, he's B. Compliments of Jamie. Thanks honey.

Contrary to American culture, traditional Chinese meals call for a simple soup as the last course. It serves to both cleanse the palate and aid in digestion. The soups are very brothy and according to my mother "make you live forever and look younger" just like all the other Chinese herbs out there, right? I knew there was a reason that we had soup after EVERY meal growing up. Imagine having to drink bittermelon soup at the age of five. That was my "Brussels sprout" growing up. You can imagine all the nose plugging that went on at the dinner table those nights. :) Here's one of my favorite, non-nose plugging soups... white fungus soup. The essential ingredients include white fungus, shredded chicken, and dried shitake mushrooms, scallops and shrimp for their delicious umami contribution. The base is chicken stock (homemade of course). The white fungus has a wonderful texture with both crunchy parts closer to the core and silkier leafier pieces also. I like to throw in a few slices of fresh ginger root for a little spice. I garnish with chopped scallions for freshness. Try this Chinese alternative to chicken noodle soup on this cold winter day.

From all our asparagus-filled dinners a few weeks back, I had saved all the asparagus ends for a day like today. Such gloomy weather always puts me in the mood for a bowl of soup. I simply added the asparagus ends to a mirepoix of one onion, two stalks of celery and two carrots. Since I wanted to keep it vegan, I added water to it once my vegetables were softened. To bump up the creaminess of the soup, I add a cup of unflavored soy milk. A whirl in the blender and a garnish of chives and soup's on!