I threw together some left over turkey, leek, and mushroom (mind you not any ordinary mushroom, but the Trumpet Royale aka King Oyster mushroom) and lo and behold ... it turned out to be what I'd called 'comfort sour' :)


INGREDIENTS:
for  two
- 2 King Oyster aka Trumpet Royale mushrooms (yes those weird looking things in the first pic)
- 1/2 leek (white part only)
- 1 Cup shredded cooked turkey (left over from Thanksgiving)
- 3 Cups chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
- Wash and slice the mushroom
- Julienne the leek and sautee in butter for 5'over  MH heat
- Add the slice mushroom and continue to sautee them for another 5'
- Add chicken broth and when it starts to boil, add shredded turkey.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot

Monkfish are sometimes known as "allmouth" since the fish is mostly head and the head is mostly mouth and they are ugly looking with their depressed head ... so make sure you buy the fillet  and don't ask for the whole fish or it might turn you off :-)

The meat when not over-cooked is just a lobster away :-) If you like lobster you will love this ugly fish for its great texture and mild flavor.

Monkfish is one of my  favorite fish and this soup is my version of canh chua which for me hit the spot right on when I crave for some canh chua (sour fish soup) which I sometimes sprinkle with some chopped bird's eye chilis for a hot and sour version... sluuuuurp!

Ingredients:

- 1 medium size monkfish fillet

- 4 large tomatoes

- some fresh dill

- 1 tsp Knorr tamarind powder

- 1 tsp of salt

- 1 tsp of sugar

- 3 Tsp of fish sauce

- 1/2 T canola oil

Preparation:

- Wash, and score the top of the tomatotes (pic 2), drop in some boiling water for 1 couple minutes, remove, let cool and peel the skin off.

- Trim, wash  (pic 4) and mince the dill

- Wash, dry and sprinkle the salt on the monk fish fillet, then slice into 1/8 inch thick slices (pic 5,6)

- Pour the canola oil into a small pot over Medium High heat. When the oil is heated through, drop the tomatoes in and stir fry until the tomatoes are cooked to the consistency of a thick tomatoe sauce. About 5 minutes or so. (pic 7)

- Add  just enough water to cover the tomatoes and dilute it to a thick soup, add the tamarind powder, sugar then the fish, dill and fish sauce (pic 9).  When the soup start to boil, lower the heat, the fish is done when it has just turn opaque. Turn off the heat, let it a rest for a minute or so and serve hot.

- Have some minced bird-eye chilis on the side for those who like it spicy.

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 Tsp unsalted butter
2 dozens chestnuts boiled and skinned (about 14 oz.)
1 can low fat low sodium chicken broth
1/2 small onion chopped
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and 1 bay leaf tied together)
scant 1/2 cup cream
Serve 2

PREPARATION:
1. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt the butter oved medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until it is translucent. Watch carefully, you don't want the onions to brown.

2. Add the chestnuts, bouquet garni and chicken broth. Lower the heat slightly and cook for about 30 minutes (pic 2)

3. Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender (pic 3). Return the purée to the pot and stir in the cream.(pic 4)

To serve:
Ladle the soup into 2 warm soup bowls. Place a cooked chestnuts (or slice) on top as garnish  (pic 5,6)

Les astuces des chefs:
1. Before you purée the soup, remove 4 of the chestnuts to use as a garnish. Or slice one
crosswise into thin slices and use the slices.
2. Whip some cream with a little salt and place a tablespoon in the center of the soup.
3. Sprinkle a few parsley leaves in the center of the soup and drizzle with a little bit of walnut oil.
4. Fry or microwave some bacon and place a slice of bacon on top of each portion and serve hot.
5. Serve this soup cappuccino-style in small cups topped with foamy milk steamed using my espresso machine and a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg (I like this one, will have to try it!)

  For the 3rd course of the Asian Fusion Menu, I served this thai-japanese-vietnamese fusion soup.  First off, I replaced the prawns with prawn paste made into udon-size noodle , reminiscent of our  suo^ng.  Also, for the soup base I  sauteed some tomatoes with lemon grass and pass them through  a sieve to get a clear soup with a nice colour. I also added Knorr's tamarind soup base to Thai Kitchen Tom Yum Kung paste to get a little bit more sour  flavour  ... Yum! It's also  fun to make as you get to decide how skinny/fat, and how long/short your noodles are to be.








Ingredients:
Prawns Udon:
- 1/2 lbs prawns shelled and deveined
- salt and pepper
- 1 T of canola oil
Soup  base:
- 6 tomatoes quartered for the sauce, and 2 more qartered for garnish
- 8 small mushrooms quartered
- 2 stalks of lemon grass (white part only), cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces,
save some of green stalk for garnish.
- 1 T of Thai Kitchen Tom Yum Kung paste
- 1/2 T Knorr's tamarind soup base (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 T fish sauce
- Fresh Coriander for garnish
Serves 4.


Preparation:

Prawns Udon:
- Sprinkle some salt and freshly grounded pepper on the shelled/deveined prawns,
then add the oil and mix well. Put the prawn mixture through a food processor to
make a paste, then transfer to a strong zippered sandwich bag.
- Boil some water in a small pot. Cut one corner of the sandwich bag and start
piping the prawns into the small pot, cutting off at the length you prefer. It
will cook pretty fast, and will float to the surface, remove to a soup bowl and
start a new noodle.
- Garnish the soup bowl with a couple of tomatoe quarters and a small stalk of
 lemon grass.


Soup Base:
- Stir fry the quartered tomatoes with the lemon grass until the tomatoes are
cooked. Transfer the lemon grass into a new pot of water ( 2 Cups) to start the
soup base. Pass the  cooked tomatoes through a sieve to separate the rind/seeds from the juice. Transfer the clear tomatoe juice into the soup base. Add more water if
needed to make a 4 cups.
- Add the mushrooms, let it boil, then add TYK paste, tamarind, sugar, fish
sauce and turn the heat down.
- Ajdust the seasonings to taste then pour the soup base over the udon, add
a few sprigs of cilantro and serve.

Nothing is more comforting than a hot bowl of soup in this cold weather. I sent this recipe to a friend and he made it on Valentine evening and the next day he responded that it made him the Hero of his household :)

There is nothing more sexy than a man in the kitchen vouches Isabel Allende in her book "Aphrodite a Memoir of the Senses'. The old saying "the way to his heart is through his stomach" can now be expanded to man's better half :P

Ingredients:
1 - Giò sống (1 loaf).
2 - Dry shitake mushrooms (about 12 med. size). Soak in warm water for a few hours until soft. If in a hurry, microwave in water for a couple of minutes until soft. Remove stems, squeeze off all water, than cut into tiny cubes.
3 - Wood Ear mushrooms (3 or 4). Soak them in warm water until soft, they EXPAND when soft, also cut into tiny cubes.
 4. Miến (1 small bundle ). Soak in warm water for 1/2hr or so until soft, drain well, then cut into 1cm length.

 Prep:
- Pic 1: Mix all above ingredients together well, with a bit of black pepper
- Pic 2 : Cook some rice noodle and drain well
- Pic 3: For broth: - 1 big can of chicken broth + same amount of water. Add more water if needed. - Bring to a boil - Once broth is boiling, drop balls into it, by : - scooping the mix above with a spoon into your hand - squeeze it together a bit so that it stick together into a ball. - Turn heat to med, add fish sauce and a bit of sugar. Go easy, add more later if needed. Err a bit on the salty side, because once you add the rice noodle, it will be perfect. - Once the balls of gio` kind of float up, it should be done. About 10' max.
 Pic 4: Serve with rice noodle, chopped green onions and cilantro ... yum yum... Should make 5 or 6 large bowls like that.