All posts tagged soup

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Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup – Just like the Chinese Takeaway..Only Better!

May 15, 2012

Who doesn’t love soups? Warm, comforting and healthy, soups pair beautifully with just a bit of toasted bread and butter on a night when you don’t feel like doing the whole elaborate cooking thing. With winter on its way here in Australia, many families have their long standing favourites like a hearty pumpkin , a wholesome beef and vegetable or a simple potato and leek. And if you are anything like me, you are always trying to find a different recipe to add to the usual mix because if you are making soup 2-3 nights a week over 4-5 months, the same soups can get quite boring.

Well enter Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup, the kind you devour at the chinese restaurant but find too intimidating to cook at home.Well it doesn’t have to be intimidating and certainly is not complex. I have been making a decent chicken and sweet corn soup for a fair few years now but last week I think I hit a high point with my recipe. So what do I do in that case? Ofcourse I share it with you ! After all, you have all been  nothing but patient with my photo a day escapades,  it is only fair that I thank you with this stellar recipe…so here we go !

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

Serves 3-4

You will need :

  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 5-6 sprigs of spring onion, finely chopped
  • 150-200 grams boneless chicken (chopped into small cubes)
  • 2 litres of chicken stock (home-made is best but if you are on a time budget, store bought is fine too , infact you could even use chicken stock cibes)
  • 1 tsp of freshly crushed ginger
  • 1 can creamed corn
  • 5 tbsp cornflour mixed in with cold water
  • 1 egg, white separated and lightly beaten
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • dash of sesame oil

Preparation :

  • Wash chicken and cut into 1cm cubes.
  • Using a heavy based saucepan, heat oil and add about two-thirds of the chopped spring onions, fry lightly until just translucent.
  • Add the chicken stock,crushed ginger, white pepper,black pepper and salt and bring to a boil.
  • Once the above mixture has been boiling for a couple of minutes, add in raw chicken cubes.
  • Simmer the soup on a medium flame until the chicken  is cooked through, then adding the creamed corn.
  • Now add in the cornflour mixture, mix well and let simmer until the soup has thickened to a desired consistency.
  • Finally, pour in the beaten egg white from a height, stirring the soup to form threads.
  • Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil, garnish generously with remaining chopped spring onions, some freshly chopped coriander and soy,chilli sauce(pictured).
Soy Chilli Sauce
 
Back home in Pakistan, Chinese restaurants often serve soup with this delicious soy chilli sauce. Here’s how it’s made :
 
  • 3 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1-2 bullet chillies finely chopped 
 
Combine all the above and enjoy with your steaming bowl of chicken and sweetcorn soup.
 
So there we have it, just like the takeaway, only better! What are some of your favorite soups? Are there any recipes or twists to this chicken corn soup  that you would like to share ?

You may also like: Chicken Soup to cure the flu

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Comments: 7 Posted by: Categories: Food, Musings Tags: , , , , , ,
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What Happens When You Wreck A Foodie-Blogger’s Sandwich ?

April 20, 2012

Ofcourse the Foodie-Blogger blogs about it and let me tell you , it is not kind !

So lets rewind a little bit , it is autumn here in Canberra , some days are cold , others windy and yet others rainy and cold. Earlier this week ,on one such wet and cold autumn day , I had a craving for a hot bowl of soup and a toastie.Perfect comfort food on days like that.The only problem was I didn’t have bread at work …or tomatoes or cheese ….So off I go, to find myself a sandwich bar that would make me the humble Cheese and Tomato Toasted Sandwich. 

I walk over to the nearest shopping centre food court and choose House Of Vitality. It is a salad , juice and sandwich bar , I have bought something here before but don’t quite recall what it was like. Oh well ! There really is no scope of going wrong with a Cheese and Tomato Toasted Sandwich . I mean all you have to do is butter some bread , throw on a slice of cheese, a few slices of tomatoes , crack in some pepper and chuck into the sandwich press or under a grill if you prefer.

So anyway , I ask the lady at the counter  who by the way looks overeager to serve me , ” Could I please have a Cheese and Tomato Toasted Sandwich ”

She motions me over to the sandwich display shelf and looks at me expectantly , I figure she expects me to choose from the existing array of pre-prepared sandwiches which look extremely unappetizing.I say , in my nicest voice I might add , ” No , no , could you please make me a fresh sandwich ?”  .

The enthusiasm from earlier on has been replaced with deep irritation as she exclaims , ” This is fresh , all fresh !!!”

Exasperated , she now pulls out a chunky bread roll from under the shelf to prepare my sandwich. Equally frustrated but trying to remain calm I blurt , ” No , no I meant Can I please have a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich on wholemeal bread ?”

“Oh, oh okay ! ” She seems to get it , I think ?

Sandwich bar lady is now clearly fuming though I still don’t understand her problem. She somehow manages to put together a sandwich for me and tells me I owe her $6. I am flabbergasted ! $6 for a Cheese and Tomato Toastie ? Was she serious ? Quickly realising given the lead up and the bar lady’s ” I will strangle you if you ask me another question ” demeanor  , I should just hand over the $6 and bolt ! Sometimes walking away from a situation of potential conflict is a wise thing.After paying , I walk back to work to eat my $6 toastie ( yes I really must mention the $6 as often as possible , it seems to help take the edge off a bit , thankyou for understanding), half moping knowing full well I had been ripped off. Hey , I don’t have issues about spending money on food but when you spend $6 on a cheese and tomato toastie , it hurts.Believe me , it does – especially when you are a pretty fabulous cook yourself….. And humble too.

Anyway , back to my sandwich  , I unwrap it at my desk, ready and ravenous …now before we go any further , this is typically what a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich SHOULD look like :

Cheese oozing out , tomatoes lightly softened , right ? everyone agree ? Good !

This is what my $6 sandwich DID look like , brace yourselves , it is not pleasant.

Are you feeling sorry for me yet ?

This is what I paid $6 for ? THIS ? This hastily put together , unappealing , UNTOASTED , toasted sandwich ! And if that wasn’t enough salt rubbed on my wounds, the lady had decided to throw in slices of chicken . When in heaven’s name in the entire painful ,5 minute exchange did I ever ask for chicken ? When ? I bet this is the Sandwich Bar lady’s revenge on me for asking so many questions.

Yes , ofcourse I know I can stop acting all precious,toast the sandwich myself and pull out the chicken  but that is not the point . The point is that I paid $6 to someone to make me something an 8 year old can pull off .This is a full fledged business we are speaking of , not some new starter cafe which should be given a second chance.Surely , they can do better.

I shared the story with my friend and colleague , IY  who said , ” Oh , that House of Vitality , I never buy from there anymore , its no good. It should be called The House of Mortality”

Ha ! IY is great value , what a laugh I had with that name  , to some extent redeemed from my toasted sandwich debacle.

Will I be making my own Cheese and Tomato toasties from now on? Hell yes ! Will I ever go back to The House of Mortality ?

Never Again .

Have you ever paid more than  $3 for a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich ? If so , I’d like to hear from you.

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Comments: 19 Posted by: Categories: Fabulous Finds, Feeling Peckish, Food, Musings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Bread and Butter , so what’s the big deal ?

March 30, 2012

 No, no not the bread and butter you go out to work for , I mean the real thing , Bread and Butter.

What prompted the question in my mind was how I and many others waited eagerly behind the counter at our local bakery, lured in by the aroma of freshly baked bread and sugar laden delectables.As the lovely asian lady wrapped me a bunch of damper rolls , I mentally conjured an image of my bread , slightly warmed under the grill , served with a generous layer of butter, who needs dinner , I’ll just have bread and butter everyday.

So what is this whole fuss with bread and butter ? After all it is just flour , yeast ,water, a dash of salt layered with fat.Yes I know , sounds ugly.Well,I can tell you , people (yours truly included) will go to war over it . How many times have you been to a restaurant and ordered soup , only for the complimentary bread and butter , why else would you order some concoction named ” Sopi Di Yuwana “ , it probably tastes worse than it sounds. And the time when you have deeply cursed the waiter/waitress who thought one measly tub of butter would be enough to go over three bread rolls ! What about the time when you were caught deeply concentrating on that last piece of buttered bread on your sibling’s plate , half expecting the bread to be miraculously left uneaten so you could “help” your sibling with the left overs . And who can forget that annoying person ahead of you in the queue who refuses to pay for the all you can eat salad bar because he never got his second complimentary bread roll , we’ve all seen one of them , infact we might’ve even been one of those people ….on more than one occasion.

To me , bread and butter represents dependability, always there when you need it most… like a dear friend or a much loved book that you can never get tired of. It represents bliss , the kind you only find in the comfort of your home. It is no wonder that we are so passionate about our missing bread roll even when there’s an entire menu we could pick anything from , it is the confidence that the bread and butter won’t let us down…who knows … the fact of the matter is , in this carb defying world , if there is one thing we battle to give up , it is our bread and butter and rightfully so !

Are you a bread and butter fan ? If yes , what is about bread and butter you absolutely love ? If not , congratulations ! you have wasted an entire lifetime on other inconsequential stuff , well done ….

“Sopi Di Yuwana” : Soup of an Iguana – This site claims no responsibility of the consequences of consuming Sopi Di Yuwana for the love of bread .

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Comments: 7 Posted by: Categories: Fabulous Finds, Food, Musings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
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it’s time for Chicken Soup …

March 2, 2012

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Brrrr the temperature is plummeting , the heaters have been turned on again and since the rain shows no signs of respite ,it might just be time to make that soothing concoction I have been raving on about . The thing is when you hear chicken soup , you think winter , you think coughs, colds and that dreaded flu.And if your taste buds are anything like mine ( as in you don’t even know what the word ‘bland’ means ) you are right this minute thinking Chicken Soup ? Me ? Never !

Well all that’s about to change , you see just like you, I would turn my nose up at the very mention of chicken soup or broth and thought that sort of food should be confined to hospitals , it would be a heinous crime to bring it to our dinner tables.

Until one fine day a featured recipe online caught my eye and I decided to give the dreaded Chicken Soup one last go , ofcourse with a bit of fine tuning of my own . Would you believe , that little bit of fine tuning has come a long way and this Chicken Soup is still a family favourite . It has the added benefit of boosting your immunity and relieving colds and flus, but I promise you , you absolutely do not have to be sick to have this soup !

Here’s how :

Serves 3-4

You will need :

  • 300 grams chicken pieces ( preferably wings, necks and drumsticks)
  • 2 medium carrots , peeled and cut into chunks
  • 2-3 stalks of celery , washed and cut into chunks ( you can also add in the celery leaves for additional flavor )
  • 1 medium potato , peeled and cut into chunky quarters ( optional )
  • 1 large onion coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
  • 2 tbsp chopped garlic
  • 8-10 black peppercorns
  • 6-8 whole cloves
  • 1-2 small cinnamon sticks
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp salt ( or as per taste )
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • Lemon juice ( optional )

Preparation :

  • Wash chicken pieces thoroughly and add to a heavy based medium pot. Combine chicken, carrots , celery , potato , garlic , ginger , black peppercorns , salt , turmeric powder , cloves and cinnamon sticks .
  • Add about 4-5 glasses of water and bring to a boil on medium heat , once boiling , let your soup slowly simmer for atleast an hour until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender .
  • You may prefer to take the chicken out at this step and debone it , cutting into smaller pieces before adding them back to the soup.
  • Ladle soup into serving bowls and garnish with coriander leaves ,fresh lemon juice and cracked black pepper .

Hot Tip :

Serve with saigon rolls , steamed rice or even over a bed of over cooked noodles.
Apart from being a popularly used culinary ingredient turmeric has immense healing properties.

Yummy !


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Raindrops keep falling on my head ….

March 1, 2012

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I must hand it to my fellow Canberrans , we are into our 6th day of incessant rain and it is certainly business as usual , albeit the odd umbrella dodge on the more crowded areas in the city ( yes rest of Australia , even Canberra can be crowded ) , the buses running slightly behind schedule and I hear of a couple of road closures at the time of writing this post … But largely , we have done well !
I reckon the rain and the cold weather calls for that soothing , warm concoction we call Chicken Soup , stay tuned for my signature recipe but until then , stay warm and enjoy the rain.

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