I SAY TOM KHA GAI, YOU SAY TOM KHA KAI

Posted in Soups by sallybr

As you may have noticed, I have a soft spot for all things language. Frustration took place as I tried to figure out the correct spelling for the name of this delicious Thai soup. It is often tricky to go from a language such as Siamese to something that would convey the correct pronunciation in English. After a lot of searching around, I found a video that made me even more puzzled. In the video, they spell it as Tom Kha Kai, but when I listen to the girl my ears detect a clear sound of G for the third ideogram, making Tom Kha Gai my preferred way to spell it. You can listen for yourself and decide. Click here and fast forward to 1 min and 50 seconds. No matter how you decide to spell it, this is a delicious and very simple soup with all the contrasting flavors that are typical for the cuisine of Thailand.

TOM KHA GAI
(adapted from Marta Stewart)

1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layers removed, bruised with back of a large knife
3 cups chicken broth
1/8 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 piece of ginger, about 1 inch long, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp dried galangal powder
salt and pepper to taste
zest and juice of 1 lime, separated
1/2 Serrano pepper, sliced thin
1 + 1/2 pound chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into strips
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced thin
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 can (about 13 oz) full-fat coconut milk
fresh cilantro leaves

In a slow-cooker, combine chicken stock, lemongrass, fish sauce, brown sugar, galangal, lime zest, chicken and mushrooms. Cover and cook on high for 2 ½ hours (or on low for 4 hours). Add coconut milk and shredded carrots, and cook on high 30 minutes longer (or on low for 1 hour). Stir in lime juice and cilantro leaves. Serve topped with additional fresh cilantro, if desired. You can also save the soup without the coconut milk and carrots, and add those when re-heating on top of the stove for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are just cooked.

Serve while pretty hot, with a squeeze of fresh lime juice right on the bowl to brighten up the flavors even more.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Fishing out the lemongrass…

Comments: What a delicious soup! Oddly enough, I am not too fond of shiitake mushrooms in stir-fried preparations, even if they are quite popular in Oriental recipes. Something about their texture turns me off a little. But in soup or risotto, I love them. They do impart a lot more flavor than regular mushrooms do, and in this soup they are definitely a must. Lemongrass is also a favorite flavor of mine, and we are lucky to have a very healthy lemongrass plant growing in our backyard. When I need it, I go out with a pair of scissors and cut a stalk very close to the ground. The smell is just amazing…

I made this soup on a Sunday and as so often happens, it was my lunch three days in a row. I ran out of cilantro on day 2, but it was not a big deal. At all. Adding the coconut milk at the very end of the cooking time together with the carrots make sure that the carrots retain some of their bite, and the coconut flavor seems brighter than if it cooked for hours from the beginning. Little details matter, especially when using the crock pot. That dump and forget approach is definitely not the tastiest path…

No slow-cooker? A regular pan will work, just keep the soup at a simmer until the chicken is cooked through, then add the coconut milk and the carrots for a while longer.

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16Sep2017

SOUP SATURDAY: QUICK WEEKNIGHT SOUPS

Posted in Soups by sallybr

Third Saturday of the month, which means it’s time for soup! I regret to admit I haven’t joined this fun event for the past 4 months. Too many trips and work commitments made it impossible. But I am back now, and thrilled to join their party. This month’s event is hosted by Amy, from Amy’s Cooking Adventures. She chose Quick Weeknight Soups as the theme. My choice is so easy that I made it for lunch, from start to finish. On a working day. Are you absolutely amazed, mesmerized, intrigued, and anxious for the recipe? I thought so. I adapted it from a Martha Stewart recipe that called for soba noodles. I zoodlelized it, and made a few other minor changes.

ZUCCHINI NOODLE SOUP WITH SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS AND SPINACH
(inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart)

2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 large zucchini, spiralized
4 cups flat-leaf spinach, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add mushrooms and ginger; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, 6 minutes.

Add broth and 3 cups water; bring to a boil. Add zucchini noodles; reduce to a simmer, and cook 5 minutes. Add spinach; cook just until tender, about 1 minute. Add lime juice and soy sauce. Serve very hot.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: One of the easiest soups to make ever! It surprised me how much flavor it packed with so few and humble ingredients. The soy and the lime juice added at the very end, right before serving, deliver a mixture of umami and brightness. Umami echoed by the mushrooms, brightness intensified by the ginger. Really delicious and so very light. I picked this soup as my lunch on a day we had a departmental seminar scheduled for the afternoon, so anything that is too heavy makes it a bit hard to stay awake. Unless, of course we are talking about a fantastic speaker on a subject that is very dear to my heart. Unfortunately, not always the case.

If you like, use soba noodles which will be perfect with the mushrooms and spinach. I actually love soba and have not had any in a long time. As to that seminar, it was not my area of research, but I lucked out, great speaker, wonderful talk! I could have loaded up on soba. Such is life… best laid plans…

Amy, thanks for hosting this month, I feel so bad for staying away from the group for so many months, but what matters most is to be back…

To see what other #Soupswappers are sharing,

visit Amy’s post with a click here

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31Aug2017

BRUTTI MA BUONI LOW-CARB SOUP

Posted in Soups by sallybr

I adore the Italian language, so musical and beautiful. Would love to learn to speak Italian, it might very well be a project for after retirement. Brutti ma buoni translates as ugly but good, and of course quite a few recipes match this description. I’ve got one for you today. Cabbage, riced cauliflower, and ground chicken swimming in broth definitely won’t fall into the category of George Clooney as far as looks and charm, but it is mighty good. Actually, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. This is a reasonably filling soup, but quite low in those carbs that in some phases of life are best consumed in moderation. I used a crock pot, don’t worry if you don’t have one. It works well on the stove top. And, if you’d like to make it vegetarian, I bet farro would be amazing in place of the meat. One cup of farro would add about 130 g of carbs to the whole soup, stripping it of its low-carb label. Not that there’s anything wrong with it…

CROCK POT LOW-CARB CHICKEN & CABBAGE SOUP
(adapted from Sugar Free Mom)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 pound ground chicken
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cup canned stewed tomatoes, with their juice
1/2 cup riced cauliflower
3 cups cabbage slaw (I used store-bought)
3 cups beef broth or water
additional salt and pepper to taste

toppings of your choice, a little lemon juice, Sriracha (all optional)

Heat olive oil and saute shallots on medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until lightly browned, seasoning with one teaspoon salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, cauliflower, stir well to remove any browned bits from the pan. Transfer to crock pot. Add beef broth, cabbage slaw and cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours. If no crock pot is available, just simmer gently on the stove top for an hour or so until the cabbage is fully tender.

Adjust seasoning and serve with a dollop of yogurt, shredded cheese, or diced avocados. A little bit of Sriracha added to your bowl hurts absolutely nothing. And a squirt of lemon juice.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This soup was my lunch three days in a row. As you might have noticed, I don’t have a problem repeating the same lunch over and over, in fact I find it quite nice to cook a large batch of something in the weekend, and have it ready and waiting. Not wasting time and energy figuring out what to eat at lunch allows me to be more efficient. For instance, I might be able to sneak a few exercises before lunch (got 12 minutes to spare?), or if the schedule is too busy, keep lunch break to a minimum and get back to work right away. At the risk of making some of my friends living in huge cities very jealous, I divulge that it only takes us 8 minutes to go from lab to home. I know… we are spoiled!

Anyway, for this sequential lunches, I varied the toppings. On the first day I added shredded Gruyère, second time around a dollop of yogurt and Za’tar (never get tired of this spice mix). Finally, on the third day I crowned it with diced avocado, a heavy squirt of lemon juice and a touch of Tajin (another spice mix I am quite fond of). The soup got a bit thicker on the third day, but I did not add any water or beef broth to it, just enjoyed it the way it was. If you visit Sugar Free Mom’s site, you’ll noticed she used ground beef, so keep that in mind as an option too. I know this will become part of my regular menu, and not just when I feel the need to go low on carbs. It is delicious!

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5Jun2017

FIRST MONDAY FAVORITE: MAY 2017

Posted in First Monday Favorite, Soups by sallybr

June. We are almost halfway done with the year. Unreal. Today is the First Monday of the month, so it’s time to showcase my favorite post of May. Not very easy to choose. Part of me would love to pick Kouign-Amann, because it was the best thing I made in a long time. But I prefer to choose something that was in my kitchen when I had no idea of the sadness about to hit my family. The bliss of not knowing what was waiting for us. So, I share a delicious Chicken Noodle soup, made earlier last month.

for the full post, click here

Thank you Sid, for organizing the First Monday Favorite!

If you are a food blogger and would like to participate, drop Sid a line.

To see the contributions from my virtual friends, click on the link below

(comments are shutdown for this post)

An InLinkz Link-up

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3May2017

LUSCIOUS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Posted in Poultry, Soups by sallybr

Perhaps you would think that the time for blogging about soup is pretty much over. But two facts conspired to bring it to our table. First, Phil got a little cold, and second, the weather turned pretty nasty. Forecast for Saturday and Sunday: chilly and full-time rain. Great combination for a rotten weekend. I will disclose to you that we do resort to Campbell’s canned soup sometimes. Yes, it’s not that great, but whenever we feel like we might be getting a bit sick, we buy a couple of cans and call them dinner. I squirt a little lemon juice over my bowl, freshly ground black pepper, and it does a reasonably ok job. But, this time I decided to take this classic soup medicine into my own hands. I would start by making my own chicken broth and use that to cook chicken thighs until fork-tender. I won’t be humble. This was one spectacular chicken noodle soup. Even if for my bowl I used zoodles instead.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

A pressure cooker is preferred, but not mandatory

for the chicken stock:
2 pounds of chicken wings
2 carrots, cut in chunks
1 celery rib, cub in chunks
1/2 large onion
10 whole peppercorns
1 piece of ginger, about 1/2 inch
1 piece of kombu, about 3 inches long
1 bay leaf
7 cups of water

for the soup:
6 chicken thighs, skinless, with bone-in
4 medium carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
chicken broth, as much as needed
salt and pepper to taste
fresh lemon juice to taste
cooked noodles or zoodles

Start by making the chicken broth. Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot or pressure cooker. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 40 minutes under pressure, release steam, open the pan, strain the stock. If using a regular pan, simmer for at least one hour, preferable an hour and a half.

Return about 2 cups of broth and 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker, add the chicken pieces seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes. Alternatively, simmer in a regular pan until the meat is very tender. Remove the pieces of chicken to a bowl, allow it to cool until you can handle it.

As the chicken cools, return the pressure cooker to the stove, add the carrots, celery, cook under pressure for 5 minutes, or in a regular pan until the veggies are tender. The base of the soup is now ready. Shred the chicken with a fork or your fingers. Reserve.

When it’s time to enjoy the soup, cook some noodles (or zoodles) in boiling salted water. Re-warm the soup by mixing the soup base, the reserved chicken meat, and any reserved stock until the consistency is the way you like. Squirt fresh lemon juice, adjust seasoning if needed with salt and pepper. Place some cooked noodles in your serving bowl, ladle the soup over, and…

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I got the inspiration for this soup from a couple of sources. For instance, the use of kombu in the chicken stock came from the book The Longevity Kitchen. It is an interesting ingredient, one that I advise you to use just like you would fish sauce. Don’t sniff it. Big turn off. But it does a great job, not only nutritionally speaking, but in terms of flavor. The stock made with chicken wings has been my method of choice for years now, after a basic recipe found in one of my favorite cookbooks Simple to Spectacular. I pumped it up by using the pressure cooker, and it does a great job extracting all flavors and goodies from the wings. In the composite photo you can see the color of the stock (upper left), no photoshopping was involved.

You will notice that I used the pressure cooker three times in a row, but you can do it all in a regular pan. Make sure to allow the wings to simmer for one full hour at least, and the chicken thighs until very tender. I’ve seen recipes recommending a 10 minute simmer, and I have no idea what those people are talking about. You would have to pretty much wrestle the meat off the bone with such a quick cooking.

All in all, this was so good that I had to blog right away. Contrary to what normally happens, you are reading on Wednesday a recipe we enjoyed only three days earlier. Also contrary to my principles, with this post I line two articles in a row involving chicken. Oh, well. That shows you how much I enjoyed this recipe, I simply could not wait to share. I hope you’ll give it a try if you are headed to winter where you live, or if someone is feeling lousy with a cold. Heck, try it if you simply love chicken noodle soup. No other reason needed!