Quick and Easy Udon Noodle Soup with Fried Bean Curd Sticks

Soup is one of my favorite dishes to eat, particularly in the winter when you want a hearty meal done quickly, so you can go back to your couch and comforter as soon as possible. I had lots of bean curd sticks (basically, they are the dried skins off the top of soy milk) and wanted to find a way to apply them in a soup. I chose a Japanese Udon soup, as I felt Asian flavors would be the best compliment to the bean curd, and from there it was simple, thinly slicing and chopping whatever vegetables I had in my fridge. And the result is this highly customizable noodle soup.

 

Udon Noodle Soup with Fried Bean Curd Sticks 

Serves 1 (simply multiply each ingredient by 4 to determine the individual yields) 

Ingredients:  

1 oz bean curd sticks (I soaked mine for 20 minutes, but they can be fried as is) (can be replaced with 1/2 a serving of any other kind of protein)

1 C canola or peanut oil (or enough to cover 1/2 in of the bottom of a shallow pan)

2 oz Udon Noodles 

1 C (Vegetable/Chicken/Fish) Stock 

1 T miso 

1 t mirin 

1 T soy sauce

1/2 carrot, sliced 

1/2 C broccoli, chopped 

1/4 C leeks, sliced

1/4 cup cubed tofu 

Method:  

Heat the oil over medium heat until just before it smokes. Add the bean curd sticks and fry on either side until golden brown. Set aside on paper towels to drain the oil.

Cook the udon noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. In the same pot add the stock, miso, mirin and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Add the vegetables and tofu and cook for 2-3 minutes, just enough so that they are still slightly raw and crunchy.

Put the noodles in a bowl and pour the stock and vegetables over them. Top with the bean curd sticks, serve, and enjoy.

  

Quick and Easy Wonton soup

It was about an hour before I had to go to work when I realized that I didn't have anything to eat for lunch. With the weather being a little cooler in DC, I wanted something warm and comforting. Not only would it warm my body, but also help to erase the drabness of my current occupation, which had experienced a whirlwind of a 3 days (more on that story later). My fridge and freezer lacked the bounty of ingredients that normally defined them, however, it had just the right combination of ingredients for a soup.

Soup is one of the quintessential fridge-clearing recipes, and can range from the rustic to the refined. It can be a thick, stew-like soup or a consommé, in it's brothy-glory. I chose something in between, a broth-based soup, brimming with fresh, untampered ingredients, and a light flavor. The result was a 20 minute wonton soup. Perfect for beginning-of-Fall coolness, and deep Winter chills alike.

Wonton Soup

Approximately 3 Servings

Ingredients:

1 t ginger, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T peanut oil

1 t sesame oil

2 T soy sauce

1 T mirin or white rice vinegar

1 C scallions, sliced crosswise

1/2 C red onions, sliced

2 C vegetable stock (I made some from left over vegetable scraps a week or so ago)

1 1/2 C chicken stock

1/2 C water

2 Chinese Sausages (Lop Cheong in Cantonese; you can get these at an Asian Food Market, or probably on Amazon)

1/2 bag Trader Joe's  Wontons (I used Chicken Cilantro; you could easily use any kind of potstickers, dumplings, wontons on hand, because everyone has those in the freezer, right?)

Method:

Add the peanut oil to a pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot (not smoking), add the ginger and garlic and saute. When fragrant add the red onions. 

When the onions become translucent add the soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar and let it sit for a minute. Then add the vegetable stock, chicken stock, water, and the  and bring to a boil.

When the water comes to a boil, add the sausage and the wontons and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with scallions or sesame seeds.

Notes:

Really anything could go into this soup. You could replace the wontons with meat, and just sear the meat then add to the soup in small pieces and cook a little longer to ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly. Other vegetables to consider would be carrots, peas, snow peas, green beans, boy choy, chinese broccoli, etc.


Approximate Cost:
Wontons - $1.65
Chinese Sausage - $0.50
Scallions - $0.15
Red Onions - $0.19
Chicken Stock - $0.62
Vegetable Stock - $0.00
Water - $0.00
Peanut Oil - $0.09
Sesame Oil - $ 0.10
Soy Sauce - $0.19
Mirin - $0.30
Total - $3.79; ~$1.26/serving

Springtime Favorites: Pea and Asparagus Soup

While we are hardly in spring anymore, particularly in DC, this soup shines most brightly at Springtime, when crops are delivering the season's high of sweet peas and tender asparagus. I had some asparagus in my freezer that I'd been planning on roasting. But given that I've been in a soup making kick, I yielded myself to inspiration upon seeing a package of petite peas from Trader Joe's next to the asparagus. And the ad hoc addition of a rind of Parmesan cheese that was bound for the trash added a creamy, yet subtle flavor that invoked a bit of Fall (my favorite season), in my opinion. I made enough soup to yield about 1 serving (maybe 1 1/2 or 2 if you're really trying to cut back, but it's vegetable soup so it's good for you). Feel free to double or triple these ingredients to yield enough for a dinner for two, or a couple of mid week lunches.

Asparagus and Pea Soup
Serves 1-2

Ingredients:
1 T unsalted butter
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely sliced or diced
2 t rice vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 C chicken stock
6 oz (petite) peas
6 oz asparagus, cut into 1" pieces
rind of Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/4 C heavy cream (optional)

Method:
Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until the onion is translucent.

Turn up the heat to high to brown the onion and garlic. When browned, add the vinegar, lower the heat to medium then add the olive oil and chicken stock.

Add the peas, asparagus and Parmesan cheese rind and cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.

Remove the rind. Add the soup to a blender or use an immersion blender and puree. If you are planning on freezing the soup for later, do not add the heavy cream until before eating. Otherwise, add the cream and blend for another 30 seconds.

For a thinner, silkier soup, pour the mixture through a sieve or strainer. (You don't have to reserve the mash that is left behind, but I figured the 1/2 cup that was left over plus the 1/2 cup of artichoke-mushroom soup that I still had and some homemade bread would make for a good lunch today.)

Serve, garnish with a dollop of creme fraiche (literally fresh cream) or greek yogurt or your homemade yogurt (more on that later), topped with grated Parmesan cheese or maybe some basil chiffonade (thin slices of basil). Anything to make it pretty, because as we know, appetizing food and satisfaction are about presentation as much they are about flavor.

Artichoke-Mushroom Soup: Comfort, Even In The Summer Heat

After several days of record-breaking heat, it is finally rainy and cool down here in DC, and the perfect weather for soup. I've had some sliced baby bella mushrooms sitting in my fridge begging me not to let them go bad. The artichoke hearts I picked up from Trader Joe's the weekend before seemed to be the best pairing, and with a dollop of heavy cream right before I finished cooking, I had a great comfort meal, to get me through the dreary weather that pops up every so often during the summer. I imagine it could even been good at room temperature.

This meal took about 40 minutes of cook time, including prep work, so it's quick and comforting, and the smell that permeates throughout the house is wonderful and homey.

Artichoke-Mushrooms Soup

Ingredients:
1 T unsalted butter
1 small white onion, brunoise (finely diced)
1 shallot, diced
1 T fruity olive oil (Trader Joe's President Olive Oil/California Estate Bottled or Whole Foods 365 are great value olive oils and not watered down with peanut or canola oils)
1 T rice vinegar
2-3 C chicken stock (adjust to whether you want a thinner or a thicker soup; use your own chicken stock (2 lb chicken bones + vegetables + water to cover bones) for a more robust and homestyle flavor)
6 oz artichoke hearts (if frozen, boil in water), coarsely chopped (~1 1/4 cup)
6 oz mushroom, coarsely chopped (~1 cup)
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t thyme
1/4 C heavy cream
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
1. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over medium, then add the onion and shallot. Let it sweat in the buter for 5-10 minutes, add the olive oil and raise the heat to medium-high. When the onion and shallot begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, scrape off with a spatula, deglaze with the rice vinegar, then add the chicken stock.

2. Lower the temperature to medium, then add the artichoke hearts and mushroom. Bring to a boil then let it simmer for 25 minutes.

3. Add the cayenne pepper, nutmeg and thyme and let the soup rest for a minute. Then add it to a blender or use an immersion blender and puree it to your desired thickness.

4. Ad the heavy cream and blend for another 30 seconds. Pour into a bowl and enjoy it however you like.

I topped mine with chopped walnuts, adding texture and more nutty flavor, and parmesan cheese, which melted beautifully in the middle of the bowl. Remember, you want your food to look as good as it tastes, because presentation is almost as important to the taste of the food as the actual flavor.

Enjoy!

P.S. The soup also has a natural parter in a mesclun green salad with a bit of tomato (sweetness and
acidity) and a rice vinegar vinaigrette (3:1 olive oil:rice vinegar + 1 t dijon mustard + salt and pepper).