First step is admitting it. I admit it. I’m an Asian soup nut. Maybe it’s the fact that I may be going to China in September, or the fact that ever since I was able to read, I read about Asia and all of the different places, cultures, languages….food. My best friend in elementary school was a Korean girl. We would always swap my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for her seaweed and rice rolls. I would buy rolls of nori (before salted/roasted nori came pre-packaged) and have her mom hand roast and salt the the nori. When she’d return them to me – there would be dozens of sheets of the most delectable nori. I was in third grade heaven.
I would be invited to go with her family down to LA to Korea Town. We would shop at the most authentic markets and then lunch at the most tasty restaurants. The BBQ’s were built right into the table! It was magical.
I thrive on culture.
Learning about your culture.
His culture.
Her culture.
Their culture.
My current favorite television show is Luke Nguyen on The Cooking Channel. Not only because he seems to be the most genuine, sweet guy but because he cooks on the back of a rickshaw, in the middle of a fish market, on the river bank…. And these dishes are so simple, made with the freshest ingredients and ultimately mind-blowing. I really want his Vietnam cooking books but alas, they’re so expensive! (hint hint). He just toured Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and I am enamored. It is absolutely thrilling to think that I could one day travel to those places.
And I will.
So back to this soup. I am trying to perfect the base. I have had many misses and I feel that I have finally found a hit. I have tried to make it easy with both technique and ingredients. So here’s what I did…
The secret ingredient…shhhhhhhh….
Soup Base Ingredients
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 inches of ginger, chopped
1 Thai chili, chopped
1 teaspoon: fennel seed, coriander seed, and white peppercorns
1 tablespoon garlic chili paste (optional)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
32 ounces chicken stock
Several splashes of Maggi Seasoning
Topping Suggestions (the world is your oyster)
Mushrooms
Snow peas, sliced
Green onion, cut in thirds
Carrots, julienned
Radishes, cut into medallions
Cilantro sprigs
Shredded chicken or beef
Shrimp
Fried (over-easy) egg
Udon noodles
e….t…..c………….
Add only if you need to add some extra spice to your life.
Preparation
- Heat oil in wok or large saucepan. Add garlic, ginger and chile. Sauté until fragrant and soft, about 7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toast the fennel, coriander and pepper in a small saucepan until fragrant. About 1 minute. Continue to move the seeds around so as not to burn. Once toasted, crush in a pestle and mortar and crush until coarse, not fine. Add to soup base.
- Add soy sauce, vinegar and Maggi Seasoning to soup base.
- Slowly add chicken stock and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Prepare all of your toppings and assemble your soup. This is what I had in the fridge that I needed to use or they would have turned:
Fresh cilantro, green onion, snow peas and radishes. I also shredded a rotisserie chicken breast and fried an egg.
I also added some shredded cooked chicken to the empty soup bowls and just ladled the broth over it. I added some udon noodles to the broth about 10 minutes before serving. I made the fried egg similar to how The Pioneer Woman makes it. Comes out perfect.
Bon appetite. (here’s hoping you have better quality beer to go with it)
High Altitude Adjustment
- None
Compost
- Vegetable trimmings
- Egg shell
Recycle
- Noodle packaging
- Chicken stock packaging
- Any empty bottles…
Reuse
- n/a
Naturally Green Cooking 