Chicken & Savoy Thin Wheat Noodle Soup

I love noodles, I love soup. Enough said

Ingredients:

2 T cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small piece ginger, sliced

1 lb Chicken breast fillet, sliced

1 T fish sauce

6 C Chicken stock

1 Small head Savoy Cabbage, sliced

2 bundles Thin Wheat Noodles

3 Green onions, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown garlic in oil and then saute onion and ginger until onion is transparent.

Add chicken, turning several times to brown and season with fish sauce.

Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add peppercorns and stock.

Simmer until chicken is fully cooked (about another 10-15 mins).

Add cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes

Add noodles and green onions and cook for another 5 minutes

Adjust seasoning. Seve Hot

Beef Soup with Spicy Eggplant Sauce: Food for the Filipino Soul

A fairly popular dish found in almost any Filipino restaurant menu in America. In Filipino, this soup is called "Nilaga" which literally means boiled. Although the spicy eggplant sauce is typically not served as a sauce to this soup, I have grown accustomed to pairing it together. It was first introduced to me when a friend served this at a dinner party. Since then I've found it hard to eat one without the other.

Nilaga

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Boneless beef short ribs or brisket, cut in to 2" pieces

2 medium onions, sliced

1 T fish sauce

4 medium potatoes, cut in quarters

1 carrot, sliced (optional)

1 small cabbage, sliced (sometimes I use brussels sprouts)

3 heads baby bok choy, sliced (optional)

a handful of green beans

2 ears of corn, cut in half (optional)

salt & pepper to taste.

Directions:

Place beef in a soup pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and remove scum that forms from boiling.

Add in onions. Season with fish sauce, salt & pepper

Bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer for about 2 hours or until meat is tender.

Add in all the veggies and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until potatoes and corn are done.

Serve with rice and spicy eggplant sauce. (see recipe below)

Spicy Eggplant Sauce

Ingredients:

1 big eggplant, broiled

1 clove garlic, minced

3 T spicy vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

Broil eggplant until soft. Cut off tips, peel off skin and mash with a fork.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Adjust taste accordingly.

Chinese Style Crab and Sweet Corn Soup

This is a favorite from the "just add 1 egg" Knorr soup commercials I used to watch growing up. Although, I can just easily buy the packet and make the instant version. I was inspired to try and make it from scratch. Not only was I pretty happy with the result, this was fast and easy to make as well.

Ingredients

4 cups shrimp stock

1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled

1 can (12 oz.) creamed style corn

1/2 cup crab meat

2 T cornstarch mixed in 3 T water

1 T soy sauce

salt & white pepper to taste

sesame seed oil

3 whole eggs, lightly beaten

spring onion sliced for garnish

Directions

Bring shrimp stock to a boil over medium heat.

Add in ginger and simmer for about 5 minutes

Take out ginger and discard

Add in sweet corn and shredded crab meat and cook for 5 minutes

Bring soup to a boil and gradually stir in cornstarch mixed in water until a smooth texture is formed.

Reduce to low heat and simmer for 3 minutes

Season with salt, white pepper & sesame seed oil

Gradually stir in eggs and cook until eggs are done.

Garnish with green onions before serving.

Chicken Tinola Soup

Another one from my list of comfort foods. This clear soup with chicken, green papaya and spinach leaves is perfect for dinner especially during cold winter nights in SF.



Ingredients:
1 Tbsp, Cooking Oil
1 whole chicken breast with bone, cut up (or 6 pieces Chicken thighs)
2 tsp. Peeled Ginger, grated
1 clove Garlic crushed, peeled
1 medium sized onion, sliced
1-2 Tbsp. Fish Sauce (Filipino)
Salt to taste
5-6 cups Water
1 medium sized green papaya sliced, makes about 2 cups
1 bunch spinach leaves

DIRECTIONS:
In a pot, sauté the ginger, garlic and onions in oil until onion becomes transparent. Add the Chicken pieces and sauté until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the water, season with the fish sauce and salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer of about 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Add the sliced papaya. Cook for 5 minutes more or until the papaya is tender. Add the spinach leaves. Correct seasoning is needed. Cover and remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Serve hot with rice.