Asian Chicken Soup (good for your soul, i promise)

It's been very hot in Boston.  There's a heat wave here, seriously.  It always looks gorgeous outside but as soon as I step out, I'm covered in sweaty stickiness. Yeah, not sexy.  I know.  In any case, I read somewhere that when the weather is warm our body craves for hot foods because it helps us sweat and sweat helps cool the body.  Hence, why you're not supposed to wipe your sweat in Bikram Yoga until you're done with practice. Tonight, I'm checking out Exhale Yin at Exhale Spa Boston, which couldn't be more opposite from Bikram Yoga.

I like the western version of chicken noodle soup, etc. but the Asian version of chicken soup holds a dear place in my heart.  I am sure everyone approaches it differently and I approached mine with convenience in the back of my mind.  I might be potentially moving at the end of this month so I aimed on using whatever I have in my fridge.  With luck, I had most of what I would have wanted to use in my soup in my fridge.  Always make my day when that happens.  Yippee!!!

Broth:
8 cups of water
2lbs of bone-in chicken pieces (I'm a leg and thigh kinda' girl)
Half an onion
Knob of ginger
2 Ts of chopped leeks
2 Ts of sugar
1 T of kosher salt

Other stuff:
Carrots
White Radish
Shiitake Mushrooms
Confit Shallots, Onions, and Garlic (optional)
Shredded chicken (from the ones you used to make the broth)

Directions:

Cook the broth first on very low heat.

Once done, remove the chicken and place it in a bowl of iced cold water. Once cool, shred the meat and return them back to the broth pot or keep it separate until ready to serve. That's what I did.

Add the other ingredients to the broth pot. Cook until it boils and serve.

A few weeks ago, some friends came over to see how I was doing since I wasn't feeling well. With nothing in my fridge to entertain my guests (I know, how surprising is that?), I took a walk to Sweet Bakery down a few blocks from where I live and picked up some mini cupcakes. This bakery isn't my favorite but it was convenient. 

I wasn't great at photo documenting this whole thing. This is when I first added the radish as you can see. 

The confit stuff really adds depth to this soup. 

Once fully cooked.  How beautiful is that. 

The shredded chicken in all its natural glory and beauty.  So moist and flavorful.

It was so delicious. I ate this by the bowlful. 

In addition, I used the broth to cook up some collard greens. 

This was also a really smart way to braise collard greens - definitely gave it a lot of flavor as well. 

ENJOY!

Oxtail and Pig's Feet Stew

Not quite nose to tail eating but tail to feet. It's a new category. Up and coming. I remember distinctively being around 6 or 7 years old when I had my first oxtail and lotus root soup. I was in culinary heaven. I couldn't wrap my mind around how a tail and some funny looking root could taste so divine together. From that moment on, I refuse to cook oxtail without lotus root. Something about separating the two just feels so wrong to me - it's like I have to keep true to the dish kinda' like my motto in life, "keepin' it real".

On a separate note, I needed to vent about the woes of a pedestrian. Not only do I have to wait for the man to tell me when it's okay to walk, I have to avoid cars who run lights, and now... I have to avoid bicycles. I don't get it - they don't stop at red lights, they go right over cross walks, but they also ride alongside cars. I am totally confused and even when the man* tells me it's okay to walk - it's still NOT okay. Bicyclist, please make up your minds and pick a side. Thanks. I appreciate it.

*walk sign

Just looking at it in its raw state makes me happy. The last time I made oxtail was months ago and in SF. Berkeley Bowl was an awesome market to shop at - now come on Boston, when are we going to get something like that?



This makes me giggle. I know, it's pig's feet but pork feet is sufficient. It does look like feet, don't it?

Clean your pig's feet well - super well - really well. Massage the thing.

Looking pretty clean to me except for that one smudge right there...



Yes, clean your tails, too.

Once done, add your tails and feet to a large pot of water and let it come to a boil. No worries, you will dump this first round and prepare for the real round. The rationale is that the second round provides a much clearer broth and cleaner (maybe).

I got a little fancy and added some extra roots like carrots and radishes. Don't worry about the lotus root - we're gonna' have to do some skinning and trimming. Yeah, it's a bit high maintenance, not gonna' lie.



It's a funny looking root. I meant it. Skin it and trim off any funny looking parts as well. You know what I mean.

Slice it into 1/2" thick pieces. No worries - it takes a long time to cook - about as long as it would take to cook the oxtail to premium tenderness.

I am against skinning carrots but that's up to you. Do skin the radish. And cut them all into 1/2" thich pieces. Line them up just like this also.

Now, check back on your broth. Once it starts to look like this and softly boiling. It's good to dump it out and give it a good rinse. You might need to run the cold water a few times - you just want to get all that gunk out.

Rinse well. Really well. An A+ rinse - maybe that's easier to understand



Here's an example of clean. You feel me?

Fill it 3/4 of the way and cook it on low-med heat.

I rinse exactly 10 dried shiitake mushrooms and gave them a nice squeeze. I don't like to soak them before using them in this dish because the dried shiitake gives the soup a very nice flavor. Now, I understand the idea of mushroom based soup broth.

Throw both the mushrooms and lotus root into the pot. You should cook the radishes and carrots at the very end - like an hour before serving. They don't take too long to cook unlike the rest of the ingredients. I also added 2 Ts of sugar and 1/2 T of kosher salt. Take it easy on the seasoning, the meats and mushrooms will provide a very nice soup flavor. Remember, good food is simple food.

Optional. If you have an onion use that but if you have scallion whites, you can use that too. Throw them in the pot and remove them from the pot once they all seem quite cooked and falling apart.

Starting to heat up. Oh yeah.

After a couple of hours, I decided to remove the scallion whites. As you can see, it is falling apart.

This is the soup after 3 hours of cooking. Now everything fits.



Add your carrots and radishes. The soup should be perfect at the 4 hour mark. It's been a good run. ENJOY.

Do serve it over the carb of your choice or not.

Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

If you've never had bitter melon before, let me reassure that it is bitter and is an acquired taste. When I was a kid, I couldn't fathom how anyone would find this tasty and enjoy eating it. The Vietnamese name for this gourd literally mean suffering. However, Asians just believe that anything bitter, tastes like crap, etc. is good for you. Asians believe that bitter melon is good for your chi - improving blood flow, etc. But as I got older, I began to enjoy this dish a lot more and yes, at times, think that my body needs it to balance out my chi. Like today, I have not been feeling well and home resting. I am waiting for some test results to come back and maybe then know what the heck is wrong with me. For now, I load up on bitter melon soup.

Broth:
I used pork bone broth that I made some time ago and froze but feel free to just use plain water. The stuffed bitter melon when cooked will create a nice broth on its own.

Filling:
Ground pork, ground shrimp, wood ear mushrooms, rice vermicelli noodles, scallions, and an egg. Seasoning includes fish sauce, sugar, and a little salt. The filling is always about meat to everything else ratio - if you like a really dense filling then add less of everything else, etc.

In a large pot, cook your broth. If you use water then add your water and allow it to cook on fairly low heat (between 3-4). Your goal is clear broth and high heat makes cloudy broth - no bueno. 

Some of the ingredients that you'll need. 

I used the "phoenix brand" but I'm convinced that the red label is synonymous with rice vermicelli that all other brands use a red label - it's really hard to know which one is the one you used last anymore.

Cook the vermicelli according to the package's instruction.

With a pair of scissors, cut the noodles until there're all in 1 inch pieces.

I was lazy and since I don't own a food processor, I decided to improvise, again. I could have easily chopped the wood ear mushrooms and scallions but I decided to throw it into a blender to see what would happen. Well, this happened. It's not bad or anything - it's just a lot more fine than I would want it. 

Peel and gut your shrimp. Man, this is the FIRST time I've ever used shrimp on this blog and now I know why. They're super high maintenance. 

I found it easiest to cut it in half with my pairing knife for efficient cleaning. 

WHOA. This took a while but now they're all nice and clean. 

It took a lot of work so I really just wanna' admire it a bit more before it goes on the chopping block.

With a cleaver, chop it until it turns into a paste like substance. See?

Throw everything into a large mixing bowl. Add some fish sauce, sugar, and salt. 

Add an egg. With your hands, combine everything. 

You should have a small plate filled with fish sauce. I'll explain why later but it's necessary to the success of your dish.

Cut your bitter melons into halves. 

With a pairing knife, begin to gut it. Is that right? Well, you get what I mean. Just be careful not to cut yourself or cut through the melon. Take your time. 

Oh yeah! 1/2 down and many more to go...

Such a proud moment. I also ran water through them. 

Now, begin stuffing. I found the ends of the fork and spreader helped a lot. 

It's okay if it's not stuffed all the way to the end - get as close as you can.

The fatter half was much easier to stuff. 

Once you're done stuffing, dip each end of the melon in the bowl of fish sauce just like this. Press hard down on the plate. I was told that this was the secret to making sure the filling stays in the melon and doesn't fall out while cooking. I don't know if that's true or not but instead of taking the risk, I do this each time I make this dish. 

Flip it around and do the same to the other end. 

At this point, your pot should be nice and hot but not rolling boiling. Place your stuffed bitter melon inside the pot and be careful not to burn yourself. I needed to do some broth cleaning, obviously.

Notice that right now the bitter melon is still very green - the color is going to change once it is fully cooked. 

Clean your broth occasionally as it cooks on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. 

After an hour, it becomes a lot more dull and not as bright... almost translucent but not quite.

Remove and serve! You can eat it just like this or serve over rice. 

It should be quite tender. 

You can easily slice it as well.

ENJOY!