Thai Chicken Lemongrass Soup

It's a shame that it took me so long to make my own Thai food. I have this new found fascination with all things Thai, but I had this idea that it was going to hard, (It wasn't), and that the ingredients were going to be impossible to find, (They weren't).

For me, what decides if I will make a recipe is if I have the ingredients or not. Duh. And if they don't seem too far out of reach. The problem was that Thai food has some ingredients that I was not about to stock in my pantry. (Read: fish sauce and oyster sauce).

Bleh. Am I right? The sound of it....

But had I ever actually tried the stuff? Well, no.

And do I not eat Thai food on a regular basis and quite enjoy its flavor? Um. Yes.

So my challenge to you, is to buy the bottles of stuff which seem scary, and I guarantee once you have them you will find the motivation to cook Thai food. And you will like it. When ingredients like these are in your pantry, you open the doors to so many dishes. And the rest of the ingredient list, albeit long, will be fresh and easy to find. (Please don't hunt me down and quote me if your recipe calls for turtle shell or something ridiculous). Every culture has its quirks.

(Have you seen what is in Western food?)

We have beef fat in Hostess products, crushed red bugs as food colouring, and beetle juice in sprinkles.

But I digress.

This soup is wonderful because it highlights what asian cooks have mastered: balance. Hot, sweet, spicy, sour--all at once. Try it once and I guarantee you will be so inspired you'll be throwin' oyster sauce into stuff left, right, and centre. I am. (See here.)

And not only is it delicious, it is also very chic. (Once you've cleaned up).

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

12-16 oz. fresh egg noodles (or enough dry for 2-3 portions) or rice noodles

6 c good quality chicken stock

1-2 stocks fresh lemongrass, minced (Use this link if you don't know how to prepare it)

1/4 - 1/2 lb cooked chicken breast or thigh chopped into small pieces (or use leftover roasted chicken)

1/2 c good quality cocoanut milk

3-4 kaffir lime leaves (available fresh or frozen at asian grocery stores)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 thumb size piece of ginger, shredded

1 red chili, sliced (take the seeds out if you don't like it spicy--it will be spicy!)

1 lg carrot sliced

1 Tbsp oyster sauce (I used Golden Dragon brand)

1 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp fish sauce

2-3 c bok choy, chopped

generous handful of fresh cilantro (if you like it)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice, optional

Directions:

1. Prepare the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water to keep from sticking. Set aside

2. Bring stock to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the prepared lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and the chicken. Boil over medium-high heat 3-4 minutes.

3. Reduce to medium heat and add the garlic, ginger, chili, and carrot. Simmer 2-3 more minutes.

4. While soup is simmering, add the oyster sauce and fish sauce, as well as the brown sugar.

5. If your bok choy is the large variety, add only the thick white stalk pieces now (the green leaves take only seconds to cook so reserve those for later). Continue simmering 2-3 minutes.

6. Lastly, add the leafy greens of the bok choy. Stir and simmer 30 seconds.

7. Reduce heat to low. Add the cocoanut milk, stirring well to incorporate.

8. Taste-test for salt, adding more fish sauce if it is not salty enough. If too salty or sweet for your taste, 1 Tbsp lime juice. If too spicy, add more cocoanut milk.

9. To put the soup together, mound a generous amount of the cooked noodles in each bowl. Ladle over the hot soup and top with fresh cilantro.

Enjoy!

My 'Yay!' Soup

Yay! for using up ingredients; for cleaning out a terribly cluttered fridge; for easy and healthy options; for creating something from nothing; for yummy dinners that you can totally make in a snap. Yay! for the combination of tomato and basil; for the unlimited food combination's you can find if you search them; for the occasional Swedish massage (???); for food that can sit on the kitchen counter top and stay hot while I rush to take my laundry out the machine so that no one else in residence will plop it on top of the washer, exposing my...ahem. Yay! for taking your blog photos using photobooth because you still can't afford a new lens, but for the prospect of better photos in the near future; for the ability to still post regardless, and to have so much fun while doing it. Yay! for this beautiful day God has given us; for you, because you are the reason I do this whole blogging thing; and for everything in between.


Ingredients:

1 can PC tomato, basil and parmesan soup (I reccommend the PC brand version, it is the best canned tomato soup I have ever had. End of story.)
1 can water or milk
a few shakes of hot chili flakes
1 c broccoli, chopped into pieces
1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced into pieces (optional)
2 pieces rye bread, toasted with butter

Directions:

1. Cook can of soup over medium heat with one can of water or milk and stir.

2. As the soup warms up, assemble your veggies and chicken and once chopped, stir into the soup. (Now would be the time to add ANY other ingredients you like in soup: noodles, chickpeas, spinach, cooked lentils, extra tomatoes, zucchini, etc.) Add chili flakes and your done! Serve with toasted rye bread.

My First Attempt at a French Onion Soup

This recipe I have to admit, is not one that I conceived out of thin air--I found it on Laura Calder (a Food Network Chef)'s page on foodtv.ca. Brilliant website by the way! If you have never ventured into the Food Network World, you must.

I have been wanting to make it since the winter but despite its simple recipie, it calls for a few ingredients that I have had to slowly aquire: cognac, and red wine. I don't usually have any alcohol my kitchen other than white wine so recipies like this one get pushed to the back burner.

One day a few weeks ago, my room mate Natalia announced that she had a bottle of cognac stowed away in the back of her room and she generously donated it to my food endeavors! Its a brilliant bottle that looks like something a pirate or retired professor would drink. (I think so anyway). So that was one ingredient down, and the red wine was the only missing element. Luckily my best friend Leah came up for a weekend and absolutly FORCED me to get a bottle of Jackson Triggs red wine. (Complete lie...It was my idea- I felt it would be classy to also invest in some stemless wine glasses!) Safe to say I had it in the back of my head the entire time that the remaining wine was getting chucked into the soup. And that is exactly what happened.


But after all of that, I ended up using only 1 Tbsp. of cognac, and 1/2 Cup of Red Wine. It was worth it.

The soup was simple, but really yummy. Definitely would make a great winter afternoon dish.

Ingredients:

3/4 pounds onions, very thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cognac
1/2 cup red wine
3 cups beef stock
Salt and Pepper
Some crusty bread
Grated gruyere cheese, for garnish

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a soup pot and saute the onions until very soft, at least 15 minutes.

2. Add the cognac and red wine and wait one minute.

3. Add the stock. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Check the seasonings.

4. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls and set on a baking sheet. Top each with a slice of crusty bread and sprinkle the top generously with cheese. Broil until the top is lightly brown.