Leek and Potato Soup

I never thought that these cream soups that I so love during winter time is so easy to make. Well, it's even easier when they come out of a tin can but the real thing is so much more flavourful and healthier that making it from scratch can be deemed mandatory.

The only specialized equipment needed is a stick blender or a regular blender or a food processor. This is to puree the soup to a smooth and fine consistency. Although it won't hurt even if don't puree, you'll just have more texture in the soup which for some people is preferable.

The picture of the finished product isn't that great so I'll put that at the bottom. I'll post a better one next time I cook this again. Darina Allen's recipe in the BBC GoodFood website is the recipe I adapted.

Leek & Potato Soup

450 g  chopped leek (you may use just the white part if preferred)
1 small onion - chopped
450 g  potatoes - peeled and diced
50 g  butter
1 litre [4 cups] chicken stock
250 ml  [1 cup] milk*
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Remove the tough outer layer of the leeks. Chop and wash thoroughly to remove soil and sand.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
3. Add in the onion and leek and cook on medium heat for about 1 minute.
4. Add the diced potatoes; stir, cover and cook on low heat until vegetables are soft (about 5-10 minutes).
5. Pour in the stock, bring to boil then turn heat to lowest and simmer until the vegetables are soft.
6. Remove from heat and puree everything with a stick blender or in batches with a regular blender or food processor.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Reheat gently and stir in the milk. Serve hot.

*Note: You can use single/double cream or a combination of milk and creams.

Sweetcorn Soup

I'm not too fond of soups because it fills me up quickly which means less room for the main course and that would be a tragedy.

Occassionally when the weather is chilly you need all the help you can get to warm up. One of my favourites is this Chinese restaurant standard - sweet corn soup. It can have a variety of meat in it but the popular ones are either chicken or crab.

Before trying to cook this I didn't know that it is this easy to make. It is basically creamed corn (usually canned variety) cooked in stock then a diluted beaten egg or eggwhite is stirred in. And that is it! Of course you can prettify it with some chopped green herbs sprinkled on top but other than that it is really a doddle to make. This recipe is a hybrid from the ones in The Food of China and Deh Ta Hsiung's Taste of China.

Sweetcorn Soup

250 g  minced pork or chicken or shredded crabmeat
5 cups chicken stock
3 Tbsp rice wine or cooking wine
400 g  can of creamed corn
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 egg whites or 1 large egg
1/2 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper to
chopped green onions

1. Mix the meat with 1 Tbsp of rice wine. Set aside.
2. Mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Set aside.
3. Whisk the egg whites or whole egg until frothy. Stir in the cornstarch mixture until smooth.
4. Combine the stock with the creamed corn and remaining rice wine in a saucepan and bring to boil.
5. Add the meat and marinade. Stir to separate the meat.
6. Lower heat and simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
7. Bring the heat to medium and then slowly stir in the egg mixture in a thin stream to the soup until well blended.
8. Stir in sesame oil.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper if needed.
10. Serve garnished with chopped green onions on top.

*Note: The meat is entirely optional.

Carrot Soup

 

I overspent on carrots last week so I had this big bunch sitting in my fridge's vegetable box waiting to be used. I've never done a carrot soup before so I guess that was the natural direction it was taking. Luckily, there was this reader recipe in the current edition of the BBC Good Food magazine (is it obvious I like that magazine?!) that was precisely what I was looking for. Jenny Martin was gracious enough to share her recipe to all readers and here I am tweaking it a little bit here and there according to my taste. For one thing, I found the pureed carrots on the sweet side. Well, unless I wanted a dessert, a few twist of the salt mill did the job of making it more savoury.


Carrot Soup

1 medium red onion - chopped
1 tsp minced garlic cloves
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small sprig of fresh thyme or rosemary - use the leaves only
6 large carrots (about 800 g) - peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp sherry or rice wine (optional)
725 ml  [2 1/2 cups] stock
fresh chives - snipped (optional)
cheese - grated or crumbled (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Gently cook the onion, garlic, and thyme in oil in a pot until the onion is soft and translucent (around 10 minutes). Stir occasionally.
2. Add the carrots, cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Increase heat and add the wine (if using). Let simmer until almost all of the wine has evaporated.
4. Pour in the stock and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until carrots are soft - about 30-40 minutes. Add more water or stock if it's becoming too dry.
5. Using a blender, food processor or hand-held blender, whizz the soup until completely smooth.
6. Return to the pot and heat through. Taste and season with salt and/or pepper.
7. Serve in bowls with grated cheese and sprinkled chives on top.

Sotanghon Soup

Hot on the heels of Ting-aling's post, here is another version of the dish. This is very nice to have on a cold windy autumn night. Besides warming me, it reminds me of the time I was slurping it up in Kaka Luming's corner store.

Sotanghon is the Filipino name for the bean thread noodles (aka cellophane noodles) which is made from mung beans. It is thin, like vermicelli, almost transparent, smoother and more slippery than most other noodles. Used not only in soups but also in lumpia (spring rolls) and pancit (chowmein-like dish).

The key thing in this recipe is the garlic - lots and lots of it. It says 1/2 head of garlic which is around 2 tablespoonfuls. Do not skimp on it because it imparts a somewhat lemony flavour (curious isn't it?) and great aroma. Besides garlic is good for you, it lowers cholesterol, minimises high blood, even acts as an antibiotic. Just make sure you brush your teeth afterwards. :-) Also, I know there are variations with carrots, celery and other vegs but I like mine as simple as this.


Sotanghon Soup

6-7 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 head of garlic - minced
1/2 medium onion - sliced
1 cup chopped or flaked cooked chicken meat
1 Tbsp patis (fish sauce)
4 dried Chinese black mushrooms (shiitake)
200 g  sotanghon (bean thread) noodles
chopped green onions

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for about 20 minutes. Remove and squeeze out excess water. Cut and discard stems, slice caps into fourths.
2. Heat oil in a pot. Saute garlic and onion in low to medium heat. Make sure the garlic is not burned.
3. Add chicken meat, mushrooms and patis. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
5. Drop the sotanghon noodles in the soup and simmer for about 3 minutes or until noodles are tender and cooked. You may at an early stage cut the noodles with scissors to shorten lengths and make it more manageable to handle.
6. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve hot with combined lemon juice and patis on the side.