EGG DROP SOUP

EGG DROP SOUP

Base Ingredients
4 cups (32 oz) chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 to 4 large eggs
Salt or soy sauce

Flavoring Extras - Use one or all
1/2" fresh ginger, peeled and cut into rounds
1 stem lemongrass, bruised
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 star anise
6-8 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons miso

Soup Extras - Use one or all
1/2 block (7-8 oz) extra-firm tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch baby bok choy, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, thinly sliced

Pour the stock into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Put the smaller flavoring extras you're using into a tea ball or spice bag. Add all your flavoring extras to the saucepan with the stock. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Scoop out all the flavoring extras with a slotted spoon. Taste and add salt or soy sauce as needed.

Add any soup extras to the stock and simmer for five minutes. Save some scallions for sprinkling on top of the soup at the end.

Scoop out 1/4 cup or so of the stock and whisk it with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk this back into the stock and let it simmer for a minute or two until the broth no longer tastes starchy.

Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl with the remaining teaspoon of cornstarch. Make sure your soup is at a bare simmer. Holding a fork over the bowl (see photo), pour the eggs slowly through the tines. Whisk the broth gently with your other hand as you pour. Let the soup stand for a few seconds to finish cooking the eggs.

Serve immediately, topped with thinly sliced scallions.

CHICKPEA AND CHORIZO SOUP

CHICKPEA AND CHORIZO SOUP

12 ounces chorizo sausage
1 large white onion, chopped and thinly sliced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespons fresh thyme, minced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Chop or crumble the chorizo into bite-size pieces. Film a heavy pan lightly with olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Cook the chorizo for about five minutes or until it starts browning and and smoking. Lift out and drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Pour a little more olive oil into the pan and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and celery and cook for about ten minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another couple minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Add the chorizo back in, along with the chickpeas and beans. Cook all together for a minute, stirring, until the beans are well coated with the onions and oil.

Add the broth and white wine and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add the parsley and olive oil. Simmer for about half an hour, or until slightly reduced. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP

1 medium sweet potato, cubed into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper
1 32-oz. container organic chicken broth
1/2 small roast chicken (leftovers are fine), meat shredded off the bone
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
Juice from 1/2 lime
Several stems cilantro, chopped fine (stems and leaves), plus more leaves for garnish
1 corn tortilla, cut in half, then in 1/4” strips
1/2 ripe avocado, cubed
Small piece jack cheese, shredded

In at least a 3-qt pot, boil 6 cups of water. Add sweet potato pieces and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, until a knife pierced into center barely holds onto potato before dropping it. Drain and set aside.

In a large stock pot over medium flame, heat 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. oil, then add onion and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, salt and pepper, and sauté another minute.

Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add shredded chicken, tomatoes, lime juice, cooked potatoes, and cilantro. Turn off heat and cover.

In a small skillet over medium flame, heat remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. oil. Add tortilla strips and allow to brown, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Sprinkle with salt.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls, top with chopped cilantro, cubed avocado, shredded cheese and a handful of tortilla strips.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

MAKE EASY FRENCH ONION SOUP

Ingredients
About 2 1/2 pounds yellow, white, or red onions
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Salt
4 cups beef or chicken stock (or vegetable, if you want this to be vegetarian)
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh artisan-style bread, cut in thick slices (optional)
Gruyere or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Tools
Knife and cutting board
Wide, deep skillet OR wide saucepan (should be at least 3 quarts)
Wooden spoon
Oven-safe bowls or mugs (optional)

Instructions

1. Gather your ingredients. You should have about 2 hours until dinner; this soup takes a while to cook.

2. Cut each onion in half lengthwise, then slice into half-moons. Slice these half-moons in half again. (See this video on knife skills and good form for cutting onions.)

3. Scrape all the cut onions into a bowl. You will have at least 6 cups of chopped onions — probably more. Don't worry too much about quantities with this recipe; if you have an extra onion to use up, throw it in!

4. Cut a stick of butter in half, and then into a couple of big pieces.

5. Place your skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. Let the butter melt.

6. After the butter melts and foams up, add the onions. Stir them to coat well with butter, and sprinkled them thoroughly with about a teaspoon of salt.

7. Turn the heat to medium low, and let the onions cook. Let them cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 45 minutes. You can let them cook even longer — an hour and a half will give you deeply caramelized onions! Just let them cook, stirring at times, as you see dark color emerge. After 45 minutes they will look pale mahogany in color, like in this photo. You can let them get even darker if you like — just don't let them burn or get black. Adjust the heat as necessary.

8. As the onions reach a dark brown color, pull out your stock. The most ideal stock to use would be homemade beef stock, but I just had storebought beef broth. You can also use chicken, veal, or vegetable broth.

9. Pour in the broth and turn the heat up a little so the soup comes to a boil. Turn the heat down again and let it simmer for at least half an hour — longer, ideally!

10. Simmer until the soup has reduced a bit and is shiny and glazed over the onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately

CHINES HOT AND SOUR SOUP

CHINES HOT AND SOUR SOUP

Ingredients:
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 package of firm tofu
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots
1/4 lb. boneless pork
1 quart chicken stock, fresh or canned
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
3 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 4 TBSP. cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sesame seed oil
1 scallion, finely chopped

Preparation:
Place the mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Meanwhile, add the chicken stock, salt, and soy sauce to a soup pot and bring to a boil. While waiting for the liquid to heat up, slice the bamboo in thin matchsticks and trim the fat off the pork and cut it in strips 1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch thick. Remove the mushrooms from the hot water; put the mushroom water in the soup pot. Slice the mushrooms thinly. Add the bamboo, mushrooms, and pork to the now-boiling soup. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Use about half the block of tofu - you want about 3/4 cup of tofu sliced in matchsticks. Add the tofu, pepper, and vinegar to the pot. Bring to a boil again. Add the cornstarch mixed with water to the pot, and stir until the mixture is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the egg, stirring gently.

Ladle the hot soup in bowls and garnish with a teaspoon of sesame oil and some chopped scallions.

Adjustments:
This could easily be made vegetarian or vegan by substituting dashi or vegetable broth for the chicken stock and omitting the pork and/or the egg.

If you want more sourness, try another tablespoon of vinegar.

If you want it even thicker, try another tablespoon of corn starch mixed with water.