WonTon Soup

 

Ingredients:

½ lb. ground chicken, veal or lean pork
2 green onions, finely chopped
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
1 tsp. cornstarch (corn flour)
1 tsp. lite soy sauce
6 drops hot pepper sauce
18 wonton wrappers


Broth

4 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. lite soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
¼ tsp. hot chili paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded fresh spinach or watercress
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

Wontons: In bowl, combine ground chicken, green onions, ginger root, cornstarch, soy sauce and hot pepper sauce; mix until well blended. Lay wonton wrappers on work surface. Place spoonful of ground chicken mixture in center of each one.

Moisten edges with water. Fold each wrapper in half to form triangle; press edges to seal. Arrange in steamer basket. Cover and steam over boiling water for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan, combine broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, and hot chili paste. Bring to boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, stir in spinach until wilted.

Place 3 wontons in each bowl. Ladle soup over top.
Garnish with green onions.

Lisa C. . . . .

Roasted Tomato Bread Soup

Ingredients

5 Vine ripened Tomatoes
Sour dough bread
5 tbls Garlic flavored Olive Oil
1 lrg Can Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes
1cup Fresh Basil

Direction

• Preheat oven 400 degrees.
• Quarter and remove the center from tomatoes.
• Place on baking sheet and drizzle with oil and salt and toss.
  
• Place in oven for 15-20 minutes till edges begin to caramelize.
• Cut up basil leaves.
• Coat a pan with olive oil and add Basil.
• Add can of tomatoes (I like to add a little water in the can to get ALL the tomato out).
• Let simmer.
• Meanwhile cut up or tear up the sour dough loaf (day out is best) into bite size pieces.
• Add the bread and roasted tomatoes into simmering soup.
• Let cook for a few more minutes to allow all flavors to marry, and enjoy.
  

Tom Yum Goong

Tom Yum is a Thai hot and sour soup very similar to a spicy Sinigang.

Ingredients:

• 2 lemongrass stalks, cut into 1″ pieces and smashed a bit (about 1/3 cup)
• 6 lime leaves (about 1 tablespoon), torn with center vein removed
• 2 tablespoons fresh turmeric (luyang dilaw), sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon coriander roots, about 2 roots
• 1 tablespoon shallots, whole with skin removed (1 to 2 shallots)
• 1 cup tomato (medium tomato), sliced into 6-8 pieces lengthwise
• 2 cups broth (pork, chicken)
• 1/2 cup straw mushrooms, ends removed and halved
• 2 tablespoons red medium-sized chilies, smashed
• 4 or 5 medium-sized saltwater shrimp, whole and uncleaned, make sure they’re fresh
• a pinch of salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce (patis)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons roasted chili paste
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (add more if you like)
• 3 tablespoons fresh cow’s milk (optional)
• 3 small dried chilies, roasted (optional – use only if adding milk)
• 1 tablespoon coriander, chopped.

Procedure:

1)  Prepare all the ingredients. Remove the outer layer of the lemongrass stalks and cut off the end. Cut into 1-2? pieces and smash with the side of a heavy knife to release flavor. Tear the center vein off the lime leaves. Slice your fresh turmeric into thin slices. Cut the tomato into 6 pieces lengthwise. Peel the skin off the shallots and smash lightly. Clean your coriander roots well. Smash the fresh chilies with the back of a heavy knife, or in a mortar and pestle. If using fresh Thai straw mushrooms, slice the bottoms off and cut in 1/2 lengthwise. If making the version with milk: roast the dried chilies until fragrant and browned in a dry wok on medium heat.

2)  Wash the shrimp then set aside. Boil the broth on high until it comes to a rapid boil.  Add the lime leaves, lemongrass, coriander root, turmeric, shallots and tomato. Boil for 4-5 minutes. if you’re using fresh ingredients, 4-5 minutes should be enough. In a separate pan, boil the mushrooms in plain water.

3)  After you’ve boiled 4-5 minutes, add a pinch of salt and the shrimp. Strain the cooked mushrooms and add them to the soup as well. Cook until shrimp turn pink, about a minute.

4)  Add the fish sauce and remove from heat. You will now season the soup.

5)  Add lime juice, chili paste, smashed fresh chilies.

6)  If making the version with milk: Add the milk and dried chilies. If doing this step you’ll need to add a bit more lime juice and fish sauce as the milk tames it down a bit. Add about a teaspoon more of each.

7)  Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves and serve.

Pork Sinigang // Tamarind Spicy Pork Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs Pork, cut into chunks
  
• 3 tomatoes, sliced
• 2 onions, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4ozs Kangkong (river spinach)
• 4 ozs String beans
• 2 pieces horse radishes, sliced
• 3 pieces gabi (taro), pealed
• 2 pieces sili pag sigang (green finger pepper)
• 8 ozs sampalok (tamarind)
• 3 tablespoons of patis (fish sauce)
  
• 1 liter of rice water or water

Instructions:

• Boil sampalok in water until the shell shows cracks. Let cool then peal off the shells and with a strainer, pour samplalok (including water) into a bowl. Gently massage the sampalok meat off the seeds, strain again.
• In a pot, sauté garlic and onion then add the tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add pork and fish sauce then add the rice wash. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes then add the gabi. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the pork is tender.
• Add the horse radish and simmer for 10 minutes then add the string beans, kangkong and sili (for spice-optional). Let boil for 2 minutes.
• 
  Instead of sampalok fruit (tamarind), you can substitute it with apackaged seasoning like Knorr, tamarind bouillon cubes or mamasita.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons cooking oil
• 8 6- inch corn tortillas, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 quarts canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
• 3 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 28-ounce can)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup lightly-packed cilantro leaves plus 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
• 1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1/4 pound cheddar, grated
• Lime wedges, for serving

Preparation

1. In a large heavy pot, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add half the tortilla strips and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining tortilla strips.
2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion, garlic, and spices; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, cilantro leaves, if using, and one-third of the tortilla strips. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes; remove the bay leaves.
3. In a blender, puree the soup in batches; pour it back into the pot. Add the chicken, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook until just done, about 1 minute. Stir in the avocado.
4. To serve, put the remaining tortilla strips in bowls, top with the cheese, and pour in the soup. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro, if using, and serve with the lime wedges.