Balinese Vegetable Soup Recipe

The Balinese base this popular and delicious soup on beans, but any seasonal vegetables can be added or substituted. The recipe also includes shrimp paste, which is known locally as terasi.

Ingredient: (Serves 8)
225 g/8 oz green beans
1.2 liters/2 pints/5 cups lightly salted water
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 macadamia nuts or 4 almonds, finely chopped
1 cm/0.5 in cube shrimp paste (blachan)
10-15 ml/2-3 teaspoons coriander seeds, dry fried
30 ml/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, finely sliced
400 ml/14 fl oz canned coconut milk
2 bay leaves
225 g/8 oz/4 cups bean sprouts
8 thin lemon wedges
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper

Method:

1.    Top and tail the beans, then cut them into small pieces. Bring the lightly salted water to the boil, add the beans to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Set the beans aside.

2.   Finely grind the chopped garlic, macadamia nuts or almonds, shrimp paste (blachan) and the coriander seeds to a paste using a pestle and mortar or in a food processor.

   

3. Heat the oil in a wok, and fry the onion until transparent. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the nut paste to the wok and fry it for 2 minutes without allowing it to brown.

4. Pour in the reserved vegetable water. Spoon off 45-60 ml/3-4 tablespoons of the cream from the top of the coconut milk and set it aside. Add the remaining coconut milk to the wok, bring to the boil and add the bay leaves. Cook, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes.

5. Just before serving, reserve a few beans, fried onions and bean sprouts to garnish and stir the rest into the soup. Add the lemon wedges, reserved coconut cream, lemon juice and seasoning; stir well. pour into individual soup bowls and serve, garnished with the reserved beans, onion and bean sprouts.

source:Balinese Vegetable Soup Recipe

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Making Meat Stock

The most delicious meat soups, stews, casseroles, gravies and sauces rely on a good home-made stock for success. Neither a stock cube nor a canned consommé will do if you want the best flavor. Once made, meat stock can be kept in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, or frozen for longer storage (up to 6 months).

Ingredients:

Makes about 3.5 pints (2 liters)

·         4 lb (1.8 kg) beef bones, such as shin, leg, neck and clod, or veal or lamb bones, cut into 2.5 in (6 cm) pieces.

·         2 onions, peeled, quartered

·         2 carrots, roughly chopped

·         2 celery stalks, with leaves if possible, roughly chopped

·         2 tomatoes, coarsely chopped

·         7.5 pints (4.5 liters) cold water

·         A handful of parsley stalks

·         A few fresh thyme sprigs or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

·         2 bay leaves

·         10 black peppercorns, lightly crushed

1. Preheat a 450^oF/230^oC/Gas 8 oven. Put the bones in a roasting tin or flameproof casserole and roast, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes or until they start to brown.

2. Add the onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and baste with the fat in the tin. Roast for a further 20-30 minutes or until the bones are well browned. Stir and baste occasionally.

3. Transfer the bones and vegetables to a stockpot. Spoon off the fat from the roasting tin.

4. Add a little of the water to the roasting tin or casserole and bring to the boil on top of the stove, stirring well to scrape up any browned bits. Pour this liquid into the stockpot.

5. Add the remaining water. Bring just to the boil, skimming frequently to remove all the foam from the surface. Add the parsley, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns.

 

6. Partly cover the pot and simmer the stock for 4-6 hours. The bones and vegetables should always be covered with liquid, so top up with a little boiling water from time to time if necessary.

 

7. Strain the stock through a sieve. Skim as much fat as possible from the surface. If possible, cool the stock and then refrigerate it; the fat will rise to the top and set in a layer that can be removed easily.

source: Making Meat Stock

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Thai Omelet Soup Recipe

 

This is a surprisingly satisfying soup from Thailand that is very quick and easy to prepare. It is a versatile recipe too, in that you can vary the vegetables you use according to what is seasonally available.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1 egg

15 ml/1 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) oil

900 ml/1.5 pints vegetable stock

2 large carrots, finely diced

4 outer leaves Savoy cabbage, shredded

30 ml/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2.5 ml/0.5 teaspoon granulated sugar

2.5 ml/0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper

Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, to garnish

Variation: You can also use pak choi (bok choy) instead of Savoy cabbage. In Thailand there are about forty different types of pak choi, including miniature versions.

Method:

1. Put the egg in a bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Heat the oil in a small frying pan until it is hot, but not smoking as it would be too hot. Pour in the egg and swirl the pan so that it coats the base evenly. Cook over a medium heat until the omelet has set and the underside is golden. Slide it out of the pan and roll it up like a pancake. Slice into 5 mm/0.25 in rounds and set aside for the garnish.

 

2. Put the stock into a large pan. Add the carrots and cabbage and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the soy sauce, granulated sugar and pepper.

3. Stir well, then pour into warmed bowls. Lay a few omelet rounds on the surface of each portion and complete the garnish with the coriander leaves.

Source: Thai Omelet Soup Recipe

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