Despite my true and penultimate love for Chinese food, sometimes there is nothing better than tacos. Actually, scratch that -- sometimes there is nothing better than CHILI TACOS. Maybe it's because of that all too common second-generation American experience of loving the food your mother makes, but secretly craving the foreign simple foods of your American classmates that involve cheese and cream and tomatoes. Actually, this craving was satisfied every now and then when I was a kid; I remember my Dad making his 5-alarm chili and serving it to us on rice with sour cream -- which I totally thought was normal up until maybe 2 years ago when I found out that it wasn't. I didn't even understand what "5-alarm" meant at the time but I just remember being so freakin' excited whenever the house filled up with the smell of chili. I would stuff myself silly and be in pain from a full belly. Even so, that hasn't stopped me and to this day, there is something about the ground beef and beans and spices and cheese and sour cream that go on top of a bed of lettuce blanketed by crunchy crispy taco flour that titillates my food senses.
Unlike Chinese food though, this craving only hits me on occasion so chili tacos have kind of become a "special occasion food" in my book but when I satisfy this craving, it is so entirely gratifying. The craving hit me a few days ago along with the hankering for a good Scrabble game so I invited my best friend (an equally hardcore Scrabble fan) up for a Sunday evening of chili tacos and competition. This was, of course, highly anticipated for several days. I've been overwhelmingly busy and/or lazy so haven't cooked in a while and have been living off of frozen dumplings (which are, in and of itself, still amazing). Since tomorrow we have President's Day off, I felt at leisure to make a nice meal.
This morning I overslept and missed church. Disappointed at this and my annoying inability to wake up for anything other than work, I downloaded a few podcasts of some Jim Wallis sermons, popped in my Ipod, and headed out to run some errands. Call me a multitasker but this was awesome! I shopped for groceries and was hit by a good dosage of social justice preaching. When I got home, I turned on another sermon, poured myself a glass of Stonecap Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and started on the chili. Usually I cook in silence but this time it was great to hear these heart-moving sermons as I chopped and minced away. Jan showed up and the chili simmered for a while on the stovetop and we competed in a good Scrabble game (good because I won) as we munched on Trader Joe's veggie stix. When our stomachs were hungry from the intensity of the game, we relished in chili tacos and red wine. Mmmmm, life is good.
Chili
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground beef
4 tomatoes, chopped with seeds and pulp
2 cans tomato paste (6 oz.)
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 bag frozen corn
4 chilis (whole, with a slit in the middle)
garlic
cumin
cilantro, chopped
salt
soy sauce
olive oil
In a large pot, heat olive oil. Saute onions for 5 minutes then add garlic. Add ground beef, stir thoroughly and cook until beef is about 2/3 done. I usually add some soy sauce for taste b/c who am I kidding -- I'm Chinese and I can't resist adding soy sauce to everything. Add chopped tomatoes, stir, turn heat down to low, and cover. Let the tomatoes break down and then add tomato paste. Let this simmer and then add beans. After 5 minutes, frozen corn is next followed by chilis and then salt, cumin, and cilantro to taste. Let this simmer for as long as you deem necessary for the tastes to kick in.
Serve as is OR -- even better -- serve as chili tacos. I use Whole Foods Blue Corn hard taco shells, shred up some romaine lettuce, and get some cheddar cheese and sour cream. Serve in taco form or, as I prefer, in a taco salad form. Compliment with a few glasses of wine and an ass-serving Scrabble game and you're golden.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The origins of cooking
When I was little and it came around the time for my mom to make dinner, she would call me and my sister into the kitchen. My mother never really enjoyed cooking; she did it more out of the obligation of feeding her family. That's certainly not to say that her food was not delicious, but it most certainly was not her favorite activity of the day. So she made us her little sous chefs, handed us some knives and peppers or a bowl full of beans or a bunch of eggs to crack and order us around. I actually really delighted in this task and sometimes we would pretend to be on a cooking show or we just relished in the opportunity to hang out with mom. I was so short I had to stand on a stool, but I loved watching the water boil and my mom splitting a handful of noodles or the sauce bubble and pop, releasing the fragrances of a meal into the kitchen. It always thrilled me when my mom inspected the chicken in the oven, opening it a crack and letting me peer in with her at the magic occurring inside.
Of course, being a kid, there were times when I hated my duty and sighed and moaned throughout the process. I remember one time my mom gave me a huge bowl of mung beans in water. She told me to snap off the little squiggly root ends of each bean. I hated this task. The water was cold and it made my fingers pruney and I didn't even like mung beans! In my little kid mind, this task must have taken 5 hours (I'm sure it didn't). Just as I was reaching the 5th or 6th remaining mung bean, I clumsily knocked the entire thing over. Water spilled everywhere and the mung beans were all over the tiled floor. I even drew a picture of it in my journal that day -- melodramatically drawing myself dripping with water from head to toe with a big sad frown on my face.
It's funny now that I think about it because now I know that those evenings in the kitchen were what developed my love for cooking. Mung beans aside, I was always so excited to slice open a green pepper and smell that distinct bell pepper smell, dig out the seeds, flick off the stray ones from my fingers, and cut the pepper into halves, then strips, then little cubes. I loved cracking open eggs and whisking them to a frenzy with a fork while my mom added salt. The feel of a knife sliding through silken tofu was enough to make me smile secretly in delight. I pretended the broccoli were little trees and we were giant lumberjacks, splitting them into quarters. Even gross tasks like skimming the fat off of a cold soup or stock was fun; using a teaspoon to scrape the congealed fat off the gelatinous soup was a task that I could do all day. I've always been the kind of kid (and adult) who liked the feel of things and food prep is exactly that -- I would venture to say that cooking is first feeling, then tasting and smelling. But, tactile feelings aside, the best feeling of all was when we sat down to dinner, my little heart swelled with pride at the thought that I had helped make these dishes; that if it weren't for me, we wouldn't even be eating or have nice little squares of vegetables in our food.
Of course, being a kid, there were times when I hated my duty and sighed and moaned throughout the process. I remember one time my mom gave me a huge bowl of mung beans in water. She told me to snap off the little squiggly root ends of each bean. I hated this task. The water was cold and it made my fingers pruney and I didn't even like mung beans! In my little kid mind, this task must have taken 5 hours (I'm sure it didn't). Just as I was reaching the 5th or 6th remaining mung bean, I clumsily knocked the entire thing over. Water spilled everywhere and the mung beans were all over the tiled floor. I even drew a picture of it in my journal that day -- melodramatically drawing myself dripping with water from head to toe with a big sad frown on my face.
It's funny now that I think about it because now I know that those evenings in the kitchen were what developed my love for cooking. Mung beans aside, I was always so excited to slice open a green pepper and smell that distinct bell pepper smell, dig out the seeds, flick off the stray ones from my fingers, and cut the pepper into halves, then strips, then little cubes. I loved cracking open eggs and whisking them to a frenzy with a fork while my mom added salt. The feel of a knife sliding through silken tofu was enough to make me smile secretly in delight. I pretended the broccoli were little trees and we were giant lumberjacks, splitting them into quarters. Even gross tasks like skimming the fat off of a cold soup or stock was fun; using a teaspoon to scrape the congealed fat off the gelatinous soup was a task that I could do all day. I've always been the kind of kid (and adult) who liked the feel of things and food prep is exactly that -- I would venture to say that cooking is first feeling, then tasting and smelling. But, tactile feelings aside, the best feeling of all was when we sat down to dinner, my little heart swelled with pride at the thought that I had helped make these dishes; that if it weren't for me, we wouldn't even be eating or have nice little squares of vegetables in our food.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Single girl food
While I do not regret the impending demise of my single girl days, I am certainly cherishing the moments when it is just me. After a day of work, I go to spin class, amble home, feed my cat, and begin a simple and small meal for one that certainly would not be suitable for guests but makes me perfectly happy.
I pour myself a glass of wine and take out my cutting board and treasured knives. I sharpen my knife before beginning. My kitchen is a nice little haven and has wonderful stainless steel appliances and a pretty green backsplash. The novelty of cooking in this nook is still refreshing and I relish in knowing that this is my home that I have put together with hard work and care.
Additionally, I am a tupperware fanatic. Anything that is leftover and can be stored in tupperware will be. This provides everything a second or third chance and also creates decent portions for future use. Out of the fridge comes a tupperware with a tilapia filet (uncooked) and another tupperware with a portion of cold spaghetti. Then a bunch of kale.
I take the tupperware with the tilapia in it and pour in some white cooking wine (Goya). Add a splash of sesame oil, a smattering of crushed black papper and a pinch of salt. I let that sit while I chop some garlic. Then I wash and shred the kale. I drain it a bit but let it retain some water so that the steam will help break it down.
Heat olive oil in a pan and a pot that is large enough to hold the kale (remembering that kale is leafy but reduces greatly when cooked). When the oil is hot in the pan, reduce heat and add the filet. Pour the marinade on top and cover with lid.
Add garlic to the pot and after a few minutes, add the kale and cover. Add a capful of soy sauce, a capful of sweetened rice vinegar, and white pepper to taste. This should cook for no more than 5 minutes, if not less.
Spoon the kale over the cold spaghetti. By now the fish should be done and can be removed from heat. Enjoy with a book and red wine. Because you're a single girl, no need to share with anyone and the proportions are perfect.
After dinner perhaps I will indulge myself in a piece of dark chocolate (or two) and end the night with a grapefruit.
I pour myself a glass of wine and take out my cutting board and treasured knives. I sharpen my knife before beginning. My kitchen is a nice little haven and has wonderful stainless steel appliances and a pretty green backsplash. The novelty of cooking in this nook is still refreshing and I relish in knowing that this is my home that I have put together with hard work and care.
Additionally, I am a tupperware fanatic. Anything that is leftover and can be stored in tupperware will be. This provides everything a second or third chance and also creates decent portions for future use. Out of the fridge comes a tupperware with a tilapia filet (uncooked) and another tupperware with a portion of cold spaghetti. Then a bunch of kale.
I take the tupperware with the tilapia in it and pour in some white cooking wine (Goya). Add a splash of sesame oil, a smattering of crushed black papper and a pinch of salt. I let that sit while I chop some garlic. Then I wash and shred the kale. I drain it a bit but let it retain some water so that the steam will help break it down.
Heat olive oil in a pan and a pot that is large enough to hold the kale (remembering that kale is leafy but reduces greatly when cooked). When the oil is hot in the pan, reduce heat and add the filet. Pour the marinade on top and cover with lid.
Add garlic to the pot and after a few minutes, add the kale and cover. Add a capful of soy sauce, a capful of sweetened rice vinegar, and white pepper to taste. This should cook for no more than 5 minutes, if not less.
Spoon the kale over the cold spaghetti. By now the fish should be done and can be removed from heat. Enjoy with a book and red wine. Because you're a single girl, no need to share with anyone and the proportions are perfect.
After dinner perhaps I will indulge myself in a piece of dark chocolate (or two) and end the night with a grapefruit.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Two legs of lamb for Xmas
Well the holidays have certainly been a food extravaganza.
Thanksgiving was a flurry of activity filled with friends, family, fiance, and food. Poppa Kang's Thanksgiving Turkey is always to die for. I've attempted his recipe once with satisfying results but nowhere near as wonderful or beautiful as his bird consistently turns out year after year.
Christmas this year was food-glorious. Forget the gifts, just feed me! The night I got home, my mother fed us ox-tail stew. When I was 15, I lived in Paris for a year with my dad and whenever I came home to visit, this was the dish she always had waiting for me. Her ox-tail stew always conjures up feelings of homecoming, motherly love, and comfort.
Christmas eve was spent at the Kang residence. My mom made up a gigantic batch of spring rolls -- about 70-something of these delicious rolls filled with napa cabbage, black mushrooms, shreds of pork. They are rolled in paper thin skins (very different than the thick cardboard skin of eggrolls) fried in vegetable oil and then served with Marukan seasoned rice vinegar and a delicious chilled Chardonnay. These spring rolls are 1) an exclusive Liu (my mother's side) family recipe that I have never seen made anywhere else other than my own home and 2) are a once-a-year deal -- usually on Chinese New Year, but now that my sister lives in Michigan we ceased this opportunity of her home visit to make them. My sister and I have also vowed to learn this recipe so that the legend lives on.
Christmas was at my future in-laws' house and my Christmas gift to them was to make Xmas dinner. The menu was butternut squash soup, mixed greens salad (with walnuts of course!), two roasted legs of lamb (with the bone) in fennel butter, whipped cauliflower, mint and pea rice (made by Andrew), and sauteed zucchini (a last minute addition).
The butternut squash soup is quite easy. I hate cutting up squash so I typically splurge for the precut, packaged kind. I was cooking for 10 people so I picked up two packages. First I heat some olive oil, throw in a half a large onion (minced), and then a few cloves of garlic. After that is cooked well, I add the squash and let it cook for a few minutes. Then add water until it covers the squash. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer. When the squash is soft enough that a wooden spoon can easily split a chunk, I turn off the heat and let it cool a little. Then I puree the whole mess. Return to the pot and heat at low. Add water until it is at a proper consistency -- not too thin but not so thick that it is like baby food. Stir, stir, stir, and while stirring, add in heavy cream to the liking. I like to make the soup the night before and let it sit in the fridge -- the tastes are released overnight and it saves time. When ready to serve, reheat and be sure to stir. Serve into bowls and add a swirl of cream and a sprig of fresh thyme for a garnish.
The lamb legs were made from a recipe I found on Epicurious (enter "lamb and fennel") with a few adjustments and I changed some of the quantities of spices according to personal taste. I bought two legs of New Zealand lamb from Whole Foods -- free range and happy little guys, I guess. They were rather fatty and needed some trimming. I did this the morning of Christmas (mostly b/c nobody else was awake yet). Then I marinated the lamb legs in a concoction of red wine, minced garlic, salt, crushed pepper, lime juice, olive oil, and soy sauce. I let the legs marinate for at least 5 hours, though had I not been so full and lazy the night before I would have started this process then.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Before roasting, the roasting pan should be placed on two burners and the leg is browned on all sides. This is a pretty difficult task and the only reason I do it is because the recipe instructs me to. I'm not experienced in roasts so I'm not entirely sure why I do this and I so rarely buy a leg of lamb for myself that I don't want to try it without doing this step. Anyway, a sturdy set of tongs helps this happen.
Then the leg is smothered in the fennel butter -- a concoction of butter, a generous amount of ground fennel (must be ground to release the oils -- putting it through a grinder or food processor will not do the job), ground pepper, ground dried rosemary, minced garlic, dijon mustard, and a little bit of soy sauce (not too much since it is already in the marinade). All of this is whipped up into a butter and you can use a half or more to cover the leg.
Roast the leg for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast for another 40 minutes or so (you want the meat rare and my main complaint about my Christmas roasts were that they weren't rare enough). When the roast is done, take out the legs, remove from pan to platter and tent in foil for at least 20 minutes. This is a good time to serve the soup and salad.
The drippings can be used to make a gravy with the remainder of the fennel butter although I admit, I am terrible at gravies and they always separate and wind up being too oily/fatty for me. My cousin-in-law (??) gave me some tips about what I can do in the future so I'll try that out. Bridget Jones's mother also mentions sieving so I'll try that in the future as well.
Dinner was quite successful and I was happy to serve my future in-laws. I am pretty sure that my love language is serving and cooking so this was my best way of expressing my gratitude and happiness to them. We all had a good time with my fiance, his parents, his brother, cousins, aunt and uncle, and neighbor. His cousin and her husband also brought their 8 month old baby who is just now beginning to taste non-baby food and he really seemed to enjoy the cauliflower and squash soup.
Last holiday is New Year's Eve and then it is DIET TIME, especially because my wedding is in June and boy do we have an amazing menu for that day. Until next time, happy cooking and happy eating. xoxo
Thanksgiving was a flurry of activity filled with friends, family, fiance, and food. Poppa Kang's Thanksgiving Turkey is always to die for. I've attempted his recipe once with satisfying results but nowhere near as wonderful or beautiful as his bird consistently turns out year after year.
Christmas this year was food-glorious. Forget the gifts, just feed me! The night I got home, my mother fed us ox-tail stew. When I was 15, I lived in Paris for a year with my dad and whenever I came home to visit, this was the dish she always had waiting for me. Her ox-tail stew always conjures up feelings of homecoming, motherly love, and comfort.
Christmas eve was spent at the Kang residence. My mom made up a gigantic batch of spring rolls -- about 70-something of these delicious rolls filled with napa cabbage, black mushrooms, shreds of pork. They are rolled in paper thin skins (very different than the thick cardboard skin of eggrolls) fried in vegetable oil and then served with Marukan seasoned rice vinegar and a delicious chilled Chardonnay. These spring rolls are 1) an exclusive Liu (my mother's side) family recipe that I have never seen made anywhere else other than my own home and 2) are a once-a-year deal -- usually on Chinese New Year, but now that my sister lives in Michigan we ceased this opportunity of her home visit to make them. My sister and I have also vowed to learn this recipe so that the legend lives on.
Christmas was at my future in-laws' house and my Christmas gift to them was to make Xmas dinner. The menu was butternut squash soup, mixed greens salad (with walnuts of course!), two roasted legs of lamb (with the bone) in fennel butter, whipped cauliflower, mint and pea rice (made by Andrew), and sauteed zucchini (a last minute addition).
The butternut squash soup is quite easy. I hate cutting up squash so I typically splurge for the precut, packaged kind. I was cooking for 10 people so I picked up two packages. First I heat some olive oil, throw in a half a large onion (minced), and then a few cloves of garlic. After that is cooked well, I add the squash and let it cook for a few minutes. Then add water until it covers the squash. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and let simmer. When the squash is soft enough that a wooden spoon can easily split a chunk, I turn off the heat and let it cool a little. Then I puree the whole mess. Return to the pot and heat at low. Add water until it is at a proper consistency -- not too thin but not so thick that it is like baby food. Stir, stir, stir, and while stirring, add in heavy cream to the liking. I like to make the soup the night before and let it sit in the fridge -- the tastes are released overnight and it saves time. When ready to serve, reheat and be sure to stir. Serve into bowls and add a swirl of cream and a sprig of fresh thyme for a garnish.
The lamb legs were made from a recipe I found on Epicurious (enter "lamb and fennel") with a few adjustments and I changed some of the quantities of spices according to personal taste. I bought two legs of New Zealand lamb from Whole Foods -- free range and happy little guys, I guess. They were rather fatty and needed some trimming. I did this the morning of Christmas (mostly b/c nobody else was awake yet). Then I marinated the lamb legs in a concoction of red wine, minced garlic, salt, crushed pepper, lime juice, olive oil, and soy sauce. I let the legs marinate for at least 5 hours, though had I not been so full and lazy the night before I would have started this process then.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Before roasting, the roasting pan should be placed on two burners and the leg is browned on all sides. This is a pretty difficult task and the only reason I do it is because the recipe instructs me to. I'm not experienced in roasts so I'm not entirely sure why I do this and I so rarely buy a leg of lamb for myself that I don't want to try it without doing this step. Anyway, a sturdy set of tongs helps this happen.
Then the leg is smothered in the fennel butter -- a concoction of butter, a generous amount of ground fennel (must be ground to release the oils -- putting it through a grinder or food processor will not do the job), ground pepper, ground dried rosemary, minced garlic, dijon mustard, and a little bit of soy sauce (not too much since it is already in the marinade). All of this is whipped up into a butter and you can use a half or more to cover the leg.
Roast the leg for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast for another 40 minutes or so (you want the meat rare and my main complaint about my Christmas roasts were that they weren't rare enough). When the roast is done, take out the legs, remove from pan to platter and tent in foil for at least 20 minutes. This is a good time to serve the soup and salad.
The drippings can be used to make a gravy with the remainder of the fennel butter although I admit, I am terrible at gravies and they always separate and wind up being too oily/fatty for me. My cousin-in-law (??) gave me some tips about what I can do in the future so I'll try that out. Bridget Jones's mother also mentions sieving so I'll try that in the future as well.
Dinner was quite successful and I was happy to serve my future in-laws. I am pretty sure that my love language is serving and cooking so this was my best way of expressing my gratitude and happiness to them. We all had a good time with my fiance, his parents, his brother, cousins, aunt and uncle, and neighbor. His cousin and her husband also brought their 8 month old baby who is just now beginning to taste non-baby food and he really seemed to enjoy the cauliflower and squash soup.
Last holiday is New Year's Eve and then it is DIET TIME, especially because my wedding is in June and boy do we have an amazing menu for that day. Until next time, happy cooking and happy eating. xoxo
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Cashew butter dreams
When I get myself a brand new shiny powerful Cuisinart food processor, I am totally making jars and jars of cashew butter.
http://www.tastehongkong.com/recipes/homemade-cashew-butter/
http://www.tastehongkong.com/recipes/homemade-cashew-butter/
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Dear God
Why did you make the two most important men in my life hate ginger as much as I love it?
Love,
Angelica
Love,
Angelica
Sunday, October 17, 2010
A remedy for travel and/or colds
It's officially soup season and I've made this fish soup twice in the past two weeks.
The first time was on my last day in Ann Arbor, when I visited my sister at the University of Michigan. We had originally planned to make this soup for dinner but got lazy and had it for the late lunch/early dinner I had before I boarded my flight. Maybe it's the Asian in me, but noodle soups always make me feel nice and homey and safe. It was a good pre-flight/last meal until Thanksgiving with my sister meal with a Mission St Pale Ale. Considering that my 1 hour flight turned out to be almost 3, it kept me well satiated throughout the ordeal.
The second time was yesterday, after waking up with a terrible head cold and gross nasal drip. Throughout a delirious nap I couldn't think of anything but this fish soup so when I finally woke up, I dragged myself to Whole Foods on 97th (the best Whole Foods in Manhattan by far) just to get the ingredients for the soup. I made enough for me, Andrew, and the next few days. Andrew and I had this soup with a bottle of Orleans Hill Cote Zero 2009 (not bad, not great, good with fish, organic, "sulfite-free," but most importantly, $8.99 at Whole Foods).
The best part about this soup is that it is fast, cheap, and of course healthy (always the shining benefit of a meal). All kinds of variations can be made to it and I'm still working on perfecting the details and ingredients since this is one of my newer dishes. This is a good soup for pre or post travel, a bad head cold, or just change-of-weather-scuffed-boots blues.
Ingredients:
1 carton vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk green onion
A small nubbin (about 2 cents worth) of ginger
Noodles -- the first time we used Chinese wheat noodles, the second time I used rice vermicelli (although I had really wanted the mung bean variety)
1 filet of white fish (tilapia works well)
Leafy greens -- napa cabbage is preferred but it's out of season right now so the first time we used iceberg lettuce and the second time, I used romaine lettuce
Salt
Black pepper
White pepper
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
1) Pour vegetable broth into a large pot and set on high heat to boil
2) Add 2-3 cups water
3) Add a few pinches of salt and black pepper
4) Slice garlic cloves, add to broth
5) Mince ginger, add to broth
6) Cube the fish, add to broth
7) Chop or julienne green onion, add to broth
8) Pour in 2-3 capfuls of soy sauce, 2-3 capfuls of rice vinegar, and a dash of sesame oil
9) Let the soup heat to a boil; in the meantime prepare noodles
10) The soup is pretty much ready after it hits a rolling boil and you've lowered the heat and let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. The longer the soup is heated, the more the flavors are unlocked but note that the fish will break down more over time. It is up to you when you want to eat.
11) A few minutes before serving, throw in the leafy greens. Napa cabbage would need 5-10 minutes, iceberg lettuce needs about 5, and romaine lettuce needs 1 minute.
12) Serve with noodles
13) Add white pepper to taste
14) Tastes super good (and great for the sinuses) with Sriracha hot sauce!
The first time was on my last day in Ann Arbor, when I visited my sister at the University of Michigan. We had originally planned to make this soup for dinner but got lazy and had it for the late lunch/early dinner I had before I boarded my flight. Maybe it's the Asian in me, but noodle soups always make me feel nice and homey and safe. It was a good pre-flight/last meal until Thanksgiving with my sister meal with a Mission St Pale Ale. Considering that my 1 hour flight turned out to be almost 3, it kept me well satiated throughout the ordeal.
The second time was yesterday, after waking up with a terrible head cold and gross nasal drip. Throughout a delirious nap I couldn't think of anything but this fish soup so when I finally woke up, I dragged myself to Whole Foods on 97th (the best Whole Foods in Manhattan by far) just to get the ingredients for the soup. I made enough for me, Andrew, and the next few days. Andrew and I had this soup with a bottle of Orleans Hill Cote Zero 2009 (not bad, not great, good with fish, organic, "sulfite-free," but most importantly, $8.99 at Whole Foods).
The best part about this soup is that it is fast, cheap, and of course healthy (always the shining benefit of a meal). All kinds of variations can be made to it and I'm still working on perfecting the details and ingredients since this is one of my newer dishes. This is a good soup for pre or post travel, a bad head cold, or just change-of-weather-scuffed-boots blues.
Ingredients:
1 carton vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk green onion
A small nubbin (about 2 cents worth) of ginger
Noodles -- the first time we used Chinese wheat noodles, the second time I used rice vermicelli (although I had really wanted the mung bean variety)
1 filet of white fish (tilapia works well)
Leafy greens -- napa cabbage is preferred but it's out of season right now so the first time we used iceberg lettuce and the second time, I used romaine lettuce
Salt
Black pepper
White pepper
Soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil
1) Pour vegetable broth into a large pot and set on high heat to boil
2) Add 2-3 cups water
3) Add a few pinches of salt and black pepper
4) Slice garlic cloves, add to broth
5) Mince ginger, add to broth
6) Cube the fish, add to broth
7) Chop or julienne green onion, add to broth
8) Pour in 2-3 capfuls of soy sauce, 2-3 capfuls of rice vinegar, and a dash of sesame oil
9) Let the soup heat to a boil; in the meantime prepare noodles
10) The soup is pretty much ready after it hits a rolling boil and you've lowered the heat and let it simmer for at least 5 minutes. The longer the soup is heated, the more the flavors are unlocked but note that the fish will break down more over time. It is up to you when you want to eat.
11) A few minutes before serving, throw in the leafy greens. Napa cabbage would need 5-10 minutes, iceberg lettuce needs about 5, and romaine lettuce needs 1 minute.
12) Serve with noodles
13) Add white pepper to taste
14) Tastes super good (and great for the sinuses) with Sriracha hot sauce!
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