Tag: soup
Soup with Silken Tofu & Chicken Dumplings (A Thai-rrific, Easy Soup)

Soup with Silken Tofu & Chicken Dumplings (A Thai-rrific, Easy Soup)

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This month’s Food52 Cooking Club selection is Simple Thai Food by Leela Punyaratabandhu, a book I have had sitting on my shelf for quite awhile. The only recipe I have tried from the book is the Shrimp Pad Thai which was pretty darn tasty.  But thanks to Food52 I am discovering it is a gem of a book.  Each month the club features a different cookbook. A variety of old and new cookbooks, of which shockingly (lol), I own quite a few. Yes, confessions of a cookbook junkie.

Food52ers post photos and comments on recipes they try from the month’s selection.  It’s a great way to find out which recipes are winners and which may need a bit of tweaking.  It has definitely pushed me to actually try more recipes from the gazillions of cookbooks I have sitting on my shelf.  Raindrops on roses and a cookbook treasure trove, Dumplings that are meatballs for soup simmering on the stove..these are a few of my favorite things…..lalala.

Yep, singing led to this delicious soup from Simple Thai Food, Clear Soup with Silken Tofu and Chicken Dumplings

It is quick, easy and DELICIOUS with just a teeny weeny caveat…hope you like cilantro!

Break It Down

The soup comes together in a snap.  I used a commercial chicken stock to start with but you could use homemade stock.  The chicken dumplings, really meatballs, start with ground chicken to which just a few ingredients are added, cilantro, fish sauce, garlic, pepper and an egg white for texture.  Dump it in your food processor and blend until mixture is sticky and smooth.  These dumplings are light with a fine grain texture not as chunky as meatballs, think city versus country rustic.

The stock is seasoned with onions and soy sauce and brought to a gentle boil.  I used a small ice cream scoop to shape and drop my dumplings into the broth to cook.  Add cubed soft tofu once it is heated through, literally a few minutes later, you have a delicious, flavor-packed bowl of soup.  Finish with a garnish of cilantro and green onions.

This would be perfect as a light lunch or as a starter for dinner.  The following day I took some liberties and added shredded Napa Cabbage and carrots and poured it over udon noodles for a satisfying, tasty noodle soup.  Yumminess in a bowl.

Soup with Silken tofu and Chicken dumplings

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These are a Few of My Favorite Things (Soup with Tofu and Chicken Dumplings)

Ingredients

  • 2 medium cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro stems or 2 cilantro roots chopped
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/2 pound ground chicken dark or a mix of dark and light chicken, should not be too lean
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce such as 3 Crabs brand
  • 4 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium store bought chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
  • 1 pound silken tofu packed in water drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 green onions cut into 1-inch pieces separate the white from the green parts
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions

  • 1.In a mortar or a small chopper, make a fine paste out of the garlic, cilantro stems/roots,
  • 2.Place the ground chicken into a mixing bowl and add prepared paste. Add 2 teaspoons of fish sauce. Mix until homogenous; set aside. You can use 1 teaspoon soy sauce in place of 1 of fish sauce if you desire.
  • 3.In a large saucepan combine broth with soy sauce, 2 teaspoons fish sauce and white parts of green onions. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle boil. Scoop chicken mixture into 1-inch balls and gently drop into simmering stock. Repeat until all the chicken mixture is gone. Cook until dumplings float to the surface about 1-2 minutes.
  • 4. Gently add the tofu cubes to the broth; return to a simmer, then add the remaining green onions and remove from heat immediately. Adjust the seasoning as necessary with more fish sauce or soy sauce.
  • 5. Ladle soup into a serving bowl. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Some freshly-ground white pepper on top is optional, but recommended.
  • 6. Is this blasphemous? I don't know, but it is delicious, add a handful shredded Napa cabbage and carrots to broth, simmer additional 2-3 minutes until vegetables are soft. Top udon or ramen noodles with broth, dumplings and vegetables. Garnish with cilantro and green onions. You can use a firmer tofu instead if serving with noodles. Hmmm...
Showstopper When You InstantPotter Some Cauliflower Soup

Showstopper When You InstantPotter Some Cauliflower Soup

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Sorry if the title made you groan. But as the weather turns cooler and the days grows shorter all I can think about is soup. My perfect fall meal is a bowl of hearty soup, a chunk of warm crusty bread spread with sweet butter, a bottle of Chianti and some nice fava beans…just KIDDING, no Chianti or fava beans.  I came across a recipe on Pressure Cooker Recipes for a cauliflower soup that #1-looked and sounded delicious and #2-can be made in a snap in an Instant Pot- WIN-WIN.

Pressure Cookr Recipes (not the most original title but spot on) is a great resource not just for recipes but for tips and info on how to use your pressure cooker.  There are quite a few soup recipes but this one stood out since I really like cauliflower. For the soup I used red potatoes but any waxy potato will do such as white rose or Yukon Gold. If cauliflower doesn’t float your boat, I think broccoli would work well also. To lighten the soup  you can use half and half or whole milk in place of heavy cream or decrease the amount of cream by half and add a bit more stock.  A nice green salad, a baguette and a bowl of this soup…yep, living the good life.

 

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Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 head of cauliflower floret
  • 2 small red potatoes chunked
  • 4 cups 1 L of unsalted homemade chicken stock
  • 6 cloves of garlic minced
  • 6 slices of bacon chopped
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 cup 250 ml of heavy cream
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 stalks of green onions chopped
  • Optional: 2 tablespoons 30 ml fish sauce
  • Optional: freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

  • Place chopped bacon in your Pressure Cooker and turn heat to medium (Instant Pot: press Sauté button). Stir occasionally and allow the bacon bits to crisp (~4 mins). Remove bacon bits from pressure cooker and place on paper towel to absorb the excess fat.
  • Sauté onions in bacon fat for roughly 1– 2 minutes until soften. Add in garlic and half of the green onions. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper if you like. Sauté until fragrant.
  • Deglaze: Pour ~ ⅓ cup (100 ml) chicken stock. Scrub all the brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Keep the brown bits as they are very flavorful.
  • Pressure Cook the Cauliflower Potato Soup: Add 2 bay leaves, cauliflower, and 2 red potatoes in the pressure cooker. Pour the remaining chicken stock into pressure cooker.
  • Close the lid and cook at High Pressure for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and use a 10 minutes Natural Release. Open the lid carefully.
  • Remove Bay Leaves. Blend cauliflower soup into desired consistency with an immersion hand blender. Add 1/2 -1 cup (250 ml) of heavy cream. Taste the soup and season with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of fish sauce and kosher salt.
  • Serve: Garnish with green onions, crispy bacon bits, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy immediately. I think you will love it 🙂

Notes

  • Thinner Consistency: If you like a thinner soup consistency, add hot homemade unsalted chicken stock to adjust the thickness of the soup.
  • Smaller Cauliflower Florets: break the larger pieces into smaller florets, so it'll be easier to blend.
  • Crispy Bacon: It's important to place the bacon in the cold pot before turning on the heat (see tips section in the article).
Caldo Verde: Post-Election Comfort Food

Caldo Verde: Post-Election Comfort Food

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This week called for a very large helping of comfort and kindness.  Something to soothe our frazzled nerves and temper our anxiety and fear.  I know I could use some, I have half a mind to jump on a plane and go hug my kids.  I keep reminding myself, they’ll be home in a week, they’ll be home in a week.

What has helped me survive this week?  Humor, thanks Sean, hugs from Grandma. Talking to friends (not ranting, that just makes me crazy but yes I have done a lot of that too).  Escape from reality movies, we saw Dr. Strange (despite my stand against using Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One). Listening to audiobooks (instead of the news) and to my favorite music.  Thank goodness for Motown and K-Pop.  Riding my bike and taking Sammy on walks (yep, lucky I live in California).  Going to bookstores.  I went to a book signing by Dorie Greenspan at Omnivore Books on Food in the City.  That deserves its own special blog post which I will get to very soon.

And of course, Cooking and Baking

Posed the age-old question…If you could pick only one food to eat every day for the rest of your life, (asked by my kid Jordan, the “What if? Kid” right after asking “If you could pick a superpower, what would it be) I think I would say SOUP.  I love soup. My Dad often made soup as part of our evening meal.  It was amazing, he would start with a pot of water, add slices of meat, and seasonings such as ginger and scallions, assorted vegetables, and voila’, a delicious tasty soup in minutes.

So this week I turned to my ultimate comfort food, soup.  I found a recipe for Caldo Verde in Martha Stewart’s book Vegetables and it screamed make me, make me!  So I did.  A hearty Portuguese soup with potatoes, onions, collard greens, and chorizo or linguica.  Delicious.  It was warm and filling with a hint of bitterness (appropriate for this week) from the greens and spice from the sausage.  I loved it and I think you will too.  The recipe fills a nice-sized pot so share with a neighbor or friend…comfort and kindness.  It will help get you through rough days.

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As always tweak the recipe to your liking.  The original recipe calls for kale or collard greens, you can substitute greens with less bite such as chard or spinach.  Russet potatoes can be replaced by Yukon Golds giving the rustic soup a smoother less starchy texture.  In place of chorizo, try linguica or any spicy sausage.  For additional smokiness, saute a couple of strips of bacon along with the sausage and add to the soup.  Serve with slices of crusty French Bread slathered with butter (we deserve it).

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Caldo Verde: Comfort Food for My Election Blues

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus some for drizzling
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2.5 pounds russet potatoes about 5 medium peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 8 cups low sodium chicken stock
  • 8 ounces firm chorizo or linguica halved lengthwise
  • 10-12 ounces kale tough stems trimmed and leaves thinly sliced, or collard greens
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, and cook, stirring periodically until softened, approximately 4 minutes.
  • Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add chorizo or linguine and cook until browned, approximately 3-4 minutes on each side.
  • If desired in the same pan, saute' 2 slices of bacon that have been cut into 1/2 inche pieces.
  • Transfer chorizo to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle thinly slice on the diagonal crosswise. Transfer bacon to a paper towel to drain.
  • Puree soup with a hand blender or in a regular blender in batches. Do not fill more than halfway if using a blender.
  • Return to pot and stir in greens, simmer additional 5 minutes.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve soup drizzled with oil and topped with chorizo and bacon.
  • Optional garnish with cilantro if desired.
Review: Martha Stewart’s Vegetables

Review: Martha Stewart’s Vegetables

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Early adopter.  That’s how I would describe myself when it comes to Martha Stewart.  Years ago I invested in a copy of Entertaining the book that put her on the map.  In a tiny apartment, on a student’s budget, I dreamed of hosting a Hawaiian luau or an elegant holiday soiree’. Ok, never did the luau or soiree’ but I have used many of her recipes and tweaked her entertaining ideas.

But it has been quite awhile since I have picked up one of her books.  But Vegetables caught my eye.  We have made a concerted effort to eat more vegetables and less meat, this book was right up our alley.   First, this is not a vegetarian cookbook.  Though vegetables are definitely the star of this book there are quite a few recipes that contain meat or seafood.  Each and every recipe has a beautiful photo of the finish dish.  How cool is that?  The photos are up close, clean with simple backgrounds so focus stays on the food. The book is divided by type of vegetable such as bulbs, roots, tubers, greens and stems.  Each chapter starts with an introduction covering seasonality, buying, storing, prepping, flavor pairings and cooking.  Recipes are straight forward and uncomplicated.  Helpful hints are offered in sidebars.  As I flipped through the pages I bookmarked quite a few recipes to try.

Always looking for new ways to serve carrots I tried rainbow carrots and chard. The vegetables are steamed and drizzled with a citrus vinaigrette.  Colorful and appetizing perfect for a summer or fall meal.  Quick and easy.  I tackled the recipe for leek and parsnip soup next. Parsnips, I have to admit, is not a vegetable I cook very often, actually ever.  Loved it.  The parsnips give the soup a sweet earthy flavor, a nice twist to the classic potato leek soup.  I also managed to make the lone dessert recipe in the book.  Cornmeal shortcakes with corn ice cream and blueberry compote.  I substituted vanilla ice cream for the corn ice cream but if Santa brings me an ice cream maker with its own compressor (hint hint) I’ll definitely try the corn ice cream.  The shortcakes were buttery with a slight crunch from the cornmeal and the lemony blueberry compote a lovely accompaniment.

I received this book from Blogging for Books and I recommend it to anyone wanting to expand their “veggieverse”.   It’s filled with simple, delicious recipes with gorgeous photos and plenty of valuable information.  It’s a good thing.

corn-shortcakes

Here is a link to Cornmeal Shortcakes from Martha Stewart’s Living.  It is not exactly the same as the one in the cookbook. The difference being instead of 3 cups of all purpose flour the book’s recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups AP flour and 3/4 cup fine cornmeal.

 

 
Want Wontons? Hanging with Mom (雲吞)

Want Wontons? Hanging with Mom (雲吞)

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My mom came down and spent the week with us recently.  She is 93 years old and still lives in San Francisco in the same house I grew up in.  Her memory has faltered and her cognitive skills have diminished but she soldiers on.   I am thankful that she is still with us and grateful for the moments we have together.  It is now our turn to take care of her, everything comes full circle.

 

When she visits we talk about family.  She remembers snippets of when she was younger, she laughs at my exasperation with my kids.  She doesn’t do much cooking anymore but she does like to make wontons for the kids when she visits.  When I was in college she would make trays of wontons, freeze and pack them ready for me to take back to Berkeley after a weekend visit.  When the kids were small, during her babysitting stints, she would make wontons for them.

Tons of Advice on Won Tons

We head to the Asian market to shop for freshwater chestnuts (no canned stuff for her), pork (not pre-ground too mushy), mushrooms, wrappers, and shrimp (raw & unpeeled).  At home she insists on making the filling as she has for so many years, chopping the pork and shrimp by hand and incorporating the seasonings with her Chinese cleaver.  We reserve some of the filling for mini stuffed omelets called Gai Dan Kok (kid favorite) and then we sit, talk, and fold won tons.  We fill as many trays as we have wrappers or filling, and store them in the freezer.  When the kids come home she will boil up a batch or fry egg dumplings for them.  These are the moments I will treasure.

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Mom makes classic pork and shrimp filling for her wontons.  It is my go-to filling for not just wontons but the egg dumplings, and steamed stuffed squash.  It’s delicious.  The shrimp can be chopped with the pork and blended with the pork or cut the shrimp into 1/2 inch pieces and place one piece in each wonton as shown in the video below. Soaking the shrimp in potassium carbonate firms up the shrimp giving the wonton a nice bite.  You could probably forego this step.  I added 1 tsp Ponzu (or you could use soy sauce and a squeeze of lemon) and 1/2 tsp sesame seed oil to the shrimp for additional flavor.

The Fried Way

These wontons can also be fried.  Heat oil in a large pot to 350-375 degrees.  Fry these in at least 2-inches of oil in the pot.  Cook in batches of 6-8 won tons.  Fry to golden brown and remove to a paper towel-lined pan to drain off excess oil.  Serve with a sweet and sour sauce or ketchup.

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Wontons

Every culture has a dumpling, our family enjoys won tons in soup or fried as an appetizer. A classic! This is me mom's recipe for wontons, our favorite.
Course Appetizer, Soup
Cuisine Asian, Asian-American
Keyword dumplings, soup, won ton
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

Pork & Shrimp Filling

  • 3/4 lb ground pork
  • 1/4 pound fresh shrimp peeled and deveined and roughly diced
  • 4-6 water chestnuts peeled and coarsely chopped fresh or canned (rinse before using)
  • 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in warm water to soften (15-20 min) drained and coarsely chopped
  • 2 stalks of green onions coarsely chopped
  • 1 T cilantro leaves finely chopped optional
  • 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger peeled and minced

The Flavorings

  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 1 T oyster sauce
  • 1 T rice wine or sherry
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil optional

That's a Wrap

  • 1 pkg won ton wrappers Hong Kong Style are extra thin, I use thin wonton wrappers by New Hong Kong Noodle Company of San Francisco

Instructions

Filling

  • Start with Pork shoulder or Pork Butt. Hand-chop or coarse grind in food processor. When buying pork, look for coarse ground
  • Place ground pork and shrimp in a medium sized bowl. Add seasonings. Using chopsticks or a spoon, stir the mixture in one direction until the ingredients are well combined. Transfer half of the filling to a bowl. Reserve the other half for egg dumplings or steamed squash.

Wrapping

  • See video of my mom wrapping wontons!
  • Have ready wrappers, filling and small bowl of water or egg wash to seal won tons
  • Choose any won ton wrapper you like. My preference is Thin wrappers from New Hong Kong Noodle Factory. Wrappers come in different thicknesses. Avoid thick wrappers if you are making wontons for soup or deep-frying. Thick ones work well for Potstickers-a combination of frying and steaming when more filling is used.
  • Wontons can be folded in a variety of ways including simply folding like a triangle or square. Trick is to eliminate air bubbles and use water or egg wash to seal the edges.
  • Use about 1 generous teaspoon of filling per wonton.
  • Meanwhile, fill a large stockpot with water at least 2/3-3/4 full. Bring to boil over high heat. Drop folded wontons into the boiling water. Keep water at a nice boil not on a crazy high boil. The wontons will float to the surface as they cook, an indication they are ready. Let boil for about 3-4 minutes total, about 1 min after they float to the top. Remove with strainer, drain and serve in soup*
  • * Chicken Soup is perfect. If you use commercial chicken broth, use low sodium and season yourself. Add a slice of fresh ginger or shallots as you are heating. Season with soy sauce.
  • All the rage now seems to be serving wontons without soup, slathered in Chili Crisp Oil and a splash of vinegar. You could easily sub the soup and use a chili oil for the wontons. See notes for sauce.

Notes

From Red House Spice, Chili Sauce for Wontons in lieu of soup. 
Mix together, drizzle just cooked wontons with sauce.  Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Add a touch of Chinese Sesame Paste if you like ~1 teaspoon.

Watch Mom Fold Wontons!
Chicken Tortilla Soup from The #2 Jamigo-Jamie

Chicken Tortilla Soup from The #2 Jamigo-Jamie

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Hello! Before you get all excited to read what cool new post this blog has to offer, let me stop you right there.  It’s time to get really excited because, yes, this is not Debbie writing.  Fortunately, good ‘ol Deb here decided to let her daughter, Jamie, (that’s me!) take a whack at blogging.  So buckle up readers and followers (all 3 of you?) for an exciting glimpse of what it’s like to be a 19 year old girl living all alone for the first time, a good 2,000 miles away from her family in the—rather stormy—city of Houston, Texas.  

Whenever I tell people that I’m living in Houston for the summer, they always ask…..why..?  Why would you ever leave the great state that is California, equipped with superb weather surrounded by mountains and beaches and awesome food? And for a second, I nod and smile, and in my head wonder if I am, in fact, a crazy person for doing such a thing. Houston definitely is different from Los Gatos.  It rains here, a lot.  And I’m not talking just a light drizzle every now and then.  I’m talking hurricanes and tropical storms(whaddup trop storm Bill?) that DUMP rain and wind onto Houston and cause flash floods and rattle the windows in my room. 

Did I mention that it’s a constant 90-plus degrees, too?

I also am not in possession of a car, which is quite inconvenient to get around Houston, and if it weren’t for my 8-5 job, I would probably stay holed up in my room watching Netflix all day—which is what I do after I get home from work.  But after that second is over, I realize that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Houston is an awesome city, once you get out and about.  It’s diverse and fast-paced and always fun to explore.  For once in my life I’m earning a steady paycheck, paying rent, buying my own food, navigating through a completely new city, and making my own decisions.  I feel like a grown-up, and I’m pretty darn proud of myself.

Have You Eaten Yet?

But what you never realize before you start living on your own is how much you’ll miss your mom.  I never notice until I go home and follow her around like a puppy dog.  So, on days when I especially miss her, I like to cook recipes that she always makes me.  The other day, I decided to make her chicken tortilla soup—a slightly spicy, warm, and cheesy bowl of goodness that reminds me of home.

Note:  Skip the tortillas and serve tortilla chips on the side for folks to add with other garnishes, Or fry tortilla strips and serve them on the side instead of adding to the soup. Yes, they thicken the soup but sometimes I’m going for a lighter soup.

Sometimes my mom will add corn or black beans to the soup transforming the soup into a hearty meal in a bowl!  It is a super flexible soup, add any veggies you like, chayote, and squash would go well.  Think of this as a yummy version of Stone Soup.

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Chicken Tortilla Soup

A delicious South of the Border Chicken Soup!
Course soul food, Soup
Cuisine Mexican, tex-mex
Keyword Chicken Tortilla soup
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

The Soup

  • 1/2-1 cup chopped yellow onion Oh for goodness sakes, 1 medium onion, use the whole thing
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin like cumin? Add more
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder spicier? Add more
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 8 cups fat-skimmed chicken broth
  • 14 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes (canned) diced canned tomatoes can be substituted
  • 4 ounce can of Dice Green Chilis or use any fresh pepper, green bell pepper, Anaheim pepper, saute' with onions. Or you can char-grill them and peel and dice and add to soup.
  • 1 1/2 pounds boned, skinned chicken breasts or start with bone-in chicken breasts, bones add flavor. Allow to simmer a little longer,~ 15-20 minutes.
  • Salt
  • 6 corn tortillas 6 in. wide See notes for substitute

The Garnishes

  • 1 firm-ripe avocado cubed or thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
  • 8 ounces Any cheese that melts would work Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Mozarella, Cotija
  • Diced green onions or white onions
  • Tortilla strips or chips
  • 1 lime cut into wedges

Adds-feel free to add more veggies or beans to this soup!

  • 1 cup Corn, canned or frozen
  • 1 15 ounce can Black Beans, drained
  • 1 chayote, zuchinni-diced and added to soup during simmer

Instructions

  • In a 5- to 6-quart nonstick pan over medium heat, stir onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and pepper until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, tomatoes (including juice), and green chilies. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
  • Add chicken breasts to the broth and return it to a boil over high heat then reduce heat immediately and simmer until chicken is cooked through (cut to test), about 10 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
  • Meanwhile, stack tortillas and cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips. Add to boiling broth. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is the traditional way of making tortilla soup. Add optional vegetables, corn or beans at this point also. See notes for blasphemous shortcuts, lol...
  • Shred chicken. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit and peel it. Thinly slice or cube and place in a shallow bowl. Shred cheese and place in a bowl.
  • Before serving, season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with cilantro, avocado, green onions and cheese. I usually leave all these fixings in bowls for folks to help themselves!

 
Is this Heaven? (Rice soup, Jook)

Is this Heaven? (Rice soup, Jook)

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No, It’s AT&T Park. Huh, coulda swore it was heaven.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about my other obsession.

Sports

I love watching sports, playing sports, sports movies, talking sports…you get it.  My first love is baseball, I live and die by the San Francisco Giants.  When I think about my childhood a couple of things come to mind, going to games at the Stick with my Dad, watching Willie Mays patrol centerfield, and watching the fog roll in off the bay right onto the field.  Field of Fog, not Dreams.

My Dad and I would take Muni and get to the park and watch bp.  Back in the day, the outfield at the Stick was bordered by a chain-linked fence, not the stands that came when they enclosed it for football. As the sun set and night settled in, you could hear the wind whistle as it came into the park and swirled around the stadium.

In the fall we watched the Niners on TV while eating big bowls of steaming hot jook (rice soup) dotted with tiny pork meatballs and green onions. The perfect combo for those brisk autumn days.  My passion for sports & watching the hometown boys is inextricably linked to memories of hanging with my Dad.  Favorite movie?  Field of Dreams of course, well gotta wrap it up, going to have a catch with Jamie.

Getting to the Game

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If you have not been to a game at At&T Park, even if you aren’t a baseball fan, go, it’s always a good time, and the view is amazing!

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Jook, also known as congee or rice soup.  Perfect football season food, jook is comfort food. I make it when it’s cold outside, when anyone is sick and when they had had their wisdom teeth pulled!

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Rice soup (Jook)

Ultimate comfort food, also known as jook or congee, rice soup is soul food. This is my Dad's Cantonese version. Made with rice, chicken stock, potatoes and garnished with lettuce, shredded chicken and, scallions.
Course Breakfast, dinner, lunch, Soup
Cuisine Asian
Keyword chicken stock, congee, Jook, rice
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked long grain rice medium or short grain will work too
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 T vegetable oil
  • 2-3 slices fresh ginger
  • 1 quart chicken stock 1 quart water
  • 1 quart wqter
  • 1/8 cup rice wine
  • 2 chicken legs (whole leg) skinned if desired
  • 1 russet potato cut in large chunks

Meatballs

  • 1/3 pound ground pork or mixture of pork and chicken 1:1 or ground chicken
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp rice wine
  • 1 tbsp salted preserved turnip finely chopped (chung choy)
  • 1 tbsp minced cilanto and green onions
  • dash of salt and pepper

Garnishes:

  • green onions, sliced
  • cilantro
  • lettuce, shredded preferably iceberg

Instructions

Da Soup

  • Heat oil in a stockpot, saute ginger slices for about 30 seconds, add rice and salt and saute for a couple of minutes. Add stock, water, wine, and chicken legs. Bring to a boil then lower to a strong simmer. Do not stir. Let cook for approximately an hour and a half until the rice breaks down and the soup looks a little thick.
  • At the 60 minute mark, remove chicken and set aside to cool. Add potatoes to jook. Give it a good stir, bring it back to a simmer to finish.

Da Meatballs: My favorite addition to jook is little meatballs made with pork that my father added just before serving.

  • Add seasonings to the ground pork add 1 T chopped salted preserved turnip (chung choy).
  • Drop rounded teaspoons of the pork mixture into the rice soup, and continue to cook until meatballs are cooked through, approximately 5-10 minutes.
  • Shred chicken and serve alongside other garnishes.
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions and shredded lettuce. Serve immediately.