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Post by Don Cuevas on Jan 19, 2013 19:04:59 GMT
I'll be making a Vietnamese style Tamarind Fish Soup tomorrow, using available Mexican ingredients. I got this recipe from wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.comCanh Chua Ca (Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup) For a 5-quart pot, you'll need: 2 to 4 fish heads, tails, or fillets. I used catfish but tuna and salmon work well too. ( I'm using mojarra. DC) 2 to 3 stalks of bac ha (Vietnamese taro stem) or celery if you can't find it, peeled and sliced along the diagonal. ( Bought a raíz de chayote, a starchy tuberous root. This may work. DC) 2 tomatoes, large dice 1 to 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks ( Got it. Pineapples, 3/$25 pesos, and good.) 1 cup bean sprouts ( From Pátzcuaro mercado. DC) a dozen or so okra pods, sliced in 1-inch segments ( From Superama in Morelia. DC) 1 shallot, minced ( unavailable. Using cebollita, knob onion. DC) 2 or more cloves garlic, minced A few sprigs ngo om (Vietnamese rice paddy herb) or rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) ( No way. Use cilantro and roots instead. DC) 2 tblsp tamarind (I buy seedless tamarind in blocks. They also sell it in paste or liquid concentrated form. Adjust amounts if necessary.) ( Madame Cuevas has hulled a bag of tamarind pods. Now it's up to me to extract it. DC) Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce), to taste. ( Got it, Squid Brand, imported from Mexico City. DC) Optional: 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut diagonally into about 3-inch segments or big enough to make them easy to remove from the soup pot. ( Again, fresh in the Pátzcuaro Mercado. DC) Add a few drizzles of oil to your pot and saute shallot, garlic, tamarind, and lemongrass until fragrant. Add cleaned fish heads. Then, leaving the ingredients in the pot, fill your stock pot 3/4-full. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to medium to simmer, and scoop out any excess foam. You can either remove the lemongrass stalks at this point if you don't want to have to do that while you're eating. I like to leave them in so they can flavor the soup even more. Leaving the lemongrass in big sections makes it easier to find and to remove from the soup later. Add tomatoes, pineapple, bac ha, and okra and let simmer. Add fish sauce to taste. After maybe 15 minutes, when the fish is fully cooked and the veggies have slightly softened, taste soup again and add fish sauce if needed. Add bean sprouts and ngo om when the soup is almost done since they cook almost immediately. Ngo om has a taste and scent like fresh cumin. It adds a lovely dimension to the soup. Read more: wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2007/08/canh-chua-ca-vietnamese-sour-fish-soup.html#ixzz2IECZOcjT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2013 15:23:19 GMT
I made some red lentil soup yesterday. Perfect weather for a hearty soup. Grey,cold and rainy day. I added some red curry paste to give it some zing I didn't have any homemade stock readily available so I used some of this. We discovered it some years back and quite like it. It comes as a paste in several flavors. Topped it off with some hot paprika and fresh chopped mint and a swirl of olive oil oh, and of course, a squeeze of lemon.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 19, 2013 16:56:29 GMT
Casi - do give me the makers name. Or any www. info - our supermarket is quite good on imported stuff so may be able to persuade them.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2013 17:30:01 GMT
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 20, 2013 10:03:41 GMT
Casimira, we have had a Turkish Red Lentil Soup a few times at the Istanbul Cafe in New Haven Connecticut. It's delicious and slightly picante.
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Post by tod2 on Feb 20, 2013 10:12:35 GMT
Thank you so much Casi!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2013 13:11:12 GMT
Casimira, we have had a Turkish Red Lentil Soup a few times at the Istanbul Cafe in New Haven Connecticut. It's delicious and slightly picante. The recipe for the soup I made is from a Turkish cookbook, The Sultan's Kitchen. I wanted to be able to replicate the red lentil soup I had in Istanbul (along with some other dishes that I had there). This is hands down the best Turkish cookbook, recommended by a woman from Istanbul, that I could find. It's pretty too, great photos. You are quite welcome Tod. I hope you are able to procure some.
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Post by lola on Feb 21, 2013 5:11:32 GMT
I've used Better than Bouillon, too, and like it. I need to try your lentil soup, Casimira.
Does anyone have a favorite fish soup/chowder? I have some cod in the freezer.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2013 13:11:34 GMT
Louisiana corn & crab bisque
(You can use any fresh seafood.)
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 1/2 cup chopped celery 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup dry white wine 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 cup blond roux (1/4 cup vegetable oil and 1/4 cup flour) 3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 cup cooked corn 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon hot sauce 1 pound lump crabmeat 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 tablespoon chopped green onion 16 crab claws, optional Directions: 1. Heat the butter over a low to medium heat in a 4-quart saucepot. 2. Add onion, green bell pepper, celery, red pepper and garlic and cook for 1 minute. 3. Add chicken broth, white wine and thyme. Bring to boil. 4. In a small bowl make blond roux by combining oil and flour and stirring until a smooth paste is formed. 5. Whip in roux until mixture begins to thicken. Whip in cream, reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook until cream is blended in and beginning to thicken. 6. Add salt, hot sauce and corn. Simmer 5 minutes. 7. Very carefully in order to not break up lumps, stir in lump crabmeat, parsley and green onions. Simmer until heated. 8. Divide into 4 large bowls. Garnish with crab claws.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2013 17:16:59 GMT
Oh that's a classic Kerouac. I'm curious as to how it would be with fish having only tasted the crab version. There's a sweetness to crabmeat that one doesn't find with too many types of fish.
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Post by lola on Feb 26, 2013 17:55:16 GMT
That looks delicious, Kerouac. Thank you.
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Post by lola on Nov 25, 2013 0:06:38 GMT
Waiting for my husband to pick our youngest up from the airport. She's had a long weekend in NYC doing all sorts of fancy things, her flight was delayed an hr, it's 17 degrees F out there. The situation called for something I could make with what's in the kitchen and getting-towards-the-end-of-the-garden stash. Didn't have broth/stock on hand. I had to work all night, nap in the morning, not much energy. Two of us have colds, so comfort food in order. I admit I went overboard with the Anaheim and hot banana peppers, just to use them up.
Sauteed onions in olive oil, add roasted, peeled and seeded hot peppers saute till they're ready. Add water to cover. add: Peeled and thinly sliced carrots from the garden, lots of them to use em up. Bring to almost a boil and add a cup or so of rinsed brown rice. Sink steamer basket into liquid, submerge roasted chicken bones in so they can be lifted out later. Lower to simmer for an hr. Remove chicken bones and discard. Add a can of coconut milk Sautee sliced mushrooms in a little oil, add, turn up to simmer. Add shredded cabbage when soup is hot. Turn down, Add the rest of rotisserie chicken, bite size. Fish sauce to taste, salt, pepper. Taste, realize it's going to be too spicy hot after all. Add can of diced tomatoes. Last minute add lemon juice because I don't have limes. Serve with hot multigrain bread. It's good.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2014 22:01:11 GMT
My apartment is full of the glorious odour of leek & potato soup. Onz thing that I love so much about it is that you can add so many different ingredients -- things that you particularly like and also things that you need to get rid of. Carrots are nearly always included, and I had two left, so they went in, but I also had some celery that was withering, so that went in as well. I threw in some handsful of parsley and cilantro, because I have bunches of both of those and never manage to use all of them before they go bad. Normally I would add turnips, but I don't have any at the moment. I was tempted to put in some of the broccoli that I just bought, but frankly there were enough vegetables already. So it boiled merrily with the herbs and spices that I added along with salt and pepper. Tomorrow I will grind it up in the food processor and it will be fantastic.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 7, 2014 2:15:17 GMT
Here is a nice little compilation of soups: www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/articles/10-mighty-meaty-soups I have a couple of packages of chicken backs, and also some thigh pieces. Must make stock (salvaging the thigh meat, of course) and thinking of a nice hearty soup - stew to welcome a friend arriving in our freezing city (though the weather is somewhat less horrific than it had been). I like the idea of the ouillade, but what I'll have, mostly, is chicken meat. Of course I could buy a bit of lardons, bacon or something similar, but it will be based on chicken. Vegetable or spicing ideas?
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Post by lagatta on Mar 7, 2014 15:53:57 GMT
I'm making my chicken stock - the thigh meat and what meat there was on the backs has all been stripped off - makes quite a bit, enough for a "meal soup", sort of between a soup and a stew.
I want to make it sing. I seem to be out of tinned beans (black, white etc) or dried ones - I do have some lentils in the cupboard, but I'm not sure that is what I want for this, and I have frozen edamame (not in the shell, just the green soya beans). There is some onion and celery left. I'm out of leeks (whenever I have leeks, I use them all). I'll probably buy at least one leek but am not sure I want it in this soup. I'd love some winter squash but it isn't really the season any more - it depends on what I find at the market - would a sweet potato be good in soup?
Some dark green vegetables, but I'd add them in at the end. I do have some fresh spinach. No chard or kale, but they are easy to find. My challenge is always not buying too much veg to eat up.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 13, 2014 14:20:38 GMT
I'm in soup-stew mode here, too. My new stove was delivered Thursday, but the plumber/electrician couldn't get here until Tuesday. His real purpose, as he fit me in between other appointments, was to check everything that needs doing & make a list of what to get. But he insisted on running out for the line to hook up the stove, saying I needed that right away. So of course I was motivated to cook something & what better than a hearty soup. It was late in the day, but the pork butcher had a nice length of spine. I got some little new potatoes, a hefty wedge of cabbage, & some carrots & onions. The vegetable vendors here always have bags of washed & cut-up assorted vegetables so I got one with broccoli, cauliflower, peas, green beans, chayote, zucchini & carrot and another of just chayote. The herb vendor had beautiful fresh parsley & pre-soaked tiny chickpeas. Boy oh boy do I have a lot of soup! Some of it is in now in the freezer, of course, and besides having it as-is, last night I blenderized some for a change. I'd also made pico de gallo, a lovely addition to soup.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Mar 13, 2014 19:05:02 GMT
I made a white bean (alubias blancas chicas, similar to Navy Beans) and vegetable soup this morning. The only meat was a single smoked pork chop. I used celery, onion, garlic, carrot and potatoes, garlic and a can of organic cubed tomatoes. There was about a liter of the chipotle infused vegetable stock I'd made two days ago. It came out rather well. I had considered adding a bag of frozen green chard, but decided against it. We already have an excess of similar Caldo Gallego in the freezer.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 15, 2014 1:10:09 GMT
bixa, when you say "spine", I presume that there is some meat attached to the backbone, as with "chicken backs"?
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 15, 2014 4:09:36 GMT
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Post by Don Cuevas on Mar 15, 2014 21:35:28 GMT
From the depths of our chest freezer, I pulled up two substantial containers of a soup vaguely similar to Caldo Gallego. This soup was compounded back in September of 2013. More of it remains. We will be sharing this today with our house cleaners, if they are willing. I am just not in the mood for cooking today. I did already make a Red Cabbage Slaw this morning, a real change from our usual fat free Health Salad. I added some sweetened dried cranberries, lemon juice and chopped crystallized ginger.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 17, 2014 0:21:48 GMT
I made braised red cabbage (a Viennese recipe). It is not high in fat, and has no cholesterol (there are no bits of fatty pork in it) but it isn't fat free either, as there is a bit of oil (I used olive oil, though I doubt that is authentic).
Bixa, yes, that is sort of like the bits of meat on the chicken backs, though obviously much larger. That would be ideal for soup - picking the meat off before it is too cooked.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 31, 2014 10:58:13 GMT
I watched an ad on TV this morning - first time I had ever seen it but then I don't tune in to the 'home' channels - showing a blender type thing that cooks and puree`s the soup all in one hit. I can only imagine this to be an advantage at the office and not to be used in place of making soup in a real soup pot!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2015 11:43:48 GMT
I came across the official Baz Faz recipe for Curried Banana Soup, printed from a now defunct website.
25g butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 tsp curry powder 900ml chicken stock 350g ripe bananas 2 tbs lemon juice salt 125ml cream
Melt the butter in saucepan and cook onion gently for 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add bananas, lemon juice, salt and enough stock to cover. Bring to the boil, put the lid on and simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer to processor and make puree. Return to saucepan. Add rest of stock and cream. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Reheat and serve.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 2, 2015 23:49:18 GMT
Oh dear. By the way, my Brazilian friend, of Viennese origin, who lives in Paris, loved everything I had cooked for him back then.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2015 16:26:38 GMT
Despite my utmost respect for Baz Faz's culinary skills I really don't think I would like this recipe. Maybe with a plantain banana not the sweet ones that he recommends. I have always preferred regular bananas a wee bit on the green side. The riper they become, my husband eats them or I make banana nut bread.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2015 17:35:10 GMT
The main thing that has always worried me about that recipe is the small amount of curry powder.
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Post by lola on Jan 3, 2015 18:18:08 GMT
DUCK SOUP (or, more accurately, Duck and Cabbage Soup)
One duck carcass. left over from Ducking with Orange Sauce. Meat reserved as feasible without getting too finicky about it, fattiest skin discarded. Extra orange sauce was scraped from pan and platter, and reserved. Submerge carcass in stock pot with onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bring to boil, then turn down low to simmer for three hours or more. Refrigerate to cool and skim fat. Then heat to strain and discard solids.
Saute onions, garlic, and a pound of mushrooms in a little oil or duck fat until tender. (carrots would make it more attractive looking, but I didn't add any.) Add stock, and a cup or more of washed brown rice. Let simmer until rice is about done, and add shredded duck meat, reserved orange sauce, a lot of shredded cabbage (~ one small head). Cook 10 min and taste. It will be too sweet and need something. Add a lot of freshly ground pepper, along with moderate amts of rice vineger, MSG, soy sauce, chile paste. Taste again. Still needs something, probably: ground cumin, and a pinch of curry powder. (Alternately, I could have gone the ginger and sesame oil route.) It turned out very nice, just the thing for early January, property tax and insurance bill austerity time. I add a squirt of sriracha to my bowl.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 4, 2015 3:14:17 GMT
I bought some turkey bones (part of a carcass) at a local butcher's to make turkey broth. Ideally, I'll pick up a turkey leg or some wings tomorrow to round it out. I seem to have a bit of a sniffle, and poultry broth is the best thing.
Lola, as for your duck, don't worry about "fattiest skin". Dump it all in. Poultry broth is VERY easy to skim or remove the layer of fat once chilled if you want it fat-free. The skin provides a lot of flavour.
The famous Marx Brothers' Duck Soup recipe also involves cabbage. But no duck: "Take 2 turkeys, 1 goose, 4 cabbages, but no duck, and mix them together. After one taste, you'll duck soup the rest of your life."
I don't have any duck left; if I buy any bits for soup, it will be duck necks.
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Post by lola on Jan 4, 2015 13:08:00 GMT
Thanks, lagatta. Duck fat is currently all the rage in local restaurants, or more likely the former rage if I've heard about it. Use it to season potatoes, maybe?
Funny, I never heard the Marx Bros' recipe before. My husband says when he was a kids one of the four TV stations aired one of their movies every New Year's Eve.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2015 14:11:50 GMT
I'm going to whip up some Oyster Artichoke soup today, enough to share with some neighbors and for us to enjoy thru the weekend I scored a bunch of oysters from a local oyster bar as part of a barter that I did with them in exchange for lemons. They also gave me a container of oyster liquor which is key to flavoring this recipe. It's likely one of my favorite soups although, it is very rich.
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