Soup solution
W ith the recent unpredictable weather, liquid nourishment like soup plays a vital role for healing purposes. Whether it is to re-hydrate the body or clear congestion from the common cold, soup is a nourishing, comforting and relatively inexpensive solution to get you back on your feet. It helps improve your immune system and can fast-track your road to recovery, keeping you away from feeling lethargic, rejuvenating the mind, palate, and soul in one hearty bowl.
There are numerous varieties of ingredients that can be blended into soups but the major types include clear broths, vegetable, cream, purees, chowders, and cold soups. Dishes like gumbo are a hybrid of soup and stew, thickened by the sap of okra and ground sassafras called file, which gives it a dark, rich color. Clear broths like consommé or bouillon are strained, concentrated
Cream of pumpkin with black glutinous puree stocks made from a variety of vegetables, cooked in beef or chicken stock until the liquid becomes sparkling clear. If unflavored gelatin is added to the beef stock, it transforms its natural aspic into solid jelly, resulting in a jellied soup. Thickening agents like egg and grain add flavor and nutrients, and the stock itself acts as a stimulant to the body. Vegetable soups like Italy’s minestrone are chopped vegetables boiled in liquid and thickened with pasta or rice. Cream soups are based on regular stock and thickened with flour and butter (also called roux) or egg yolks and cream. Proper proportion is key as adding too much makes it starchy, while cooking at high temperatures will make it curdle. Using skim milk will lessen the fat content and cooking over low heat ensures the consistency is perfect and the nutrients are retained.
At the Ritz Escoffier in Paris, France, we were taught by chef Pouey that proportion should be one tablespoon each of butter and flour to two cups of soup. Slurry, or the method of thickening by combining flour or cornstarch with liquid and adding to soup using a wire whisk, makes it creamier. One tablespoon of cream plus one egg yolk is the ratio for one cup of soup.
Pureed soups like bisque or pumpkin are cooked chunky soups put through a food processor or blender to make them smooth. They are further strained through a sieve to achieve the right texture.
Soup filled with herbs and various spices Chowders are hearty with chunks of seafood or vegetables slow-cooked to perfection. The word “chowder” is derived from the French term “la chaudière,” or the enormous copper stockpot used by fishermen to cook this dish to celebrate their safe return. Timing is an essential factor because fish cooks quickly, and cooking for long periods of time will make it fall apart and rapidly deteriorate the taste. Overcooking shellfish will also make it tough to the bite. New England chowder is cream-based while its counterpart, Manhattan chowder, is tomato-based. So strong was the rivalry that Maine legislation once considered a bill banning the mixing of clams and tomato, making it illegal to prepare Manhattan chowders.
Cold soups like Spanish gazpacho and Scandinavian fruit soup are chilled before serving. The leek-and-potato pureed French vichyssoise can be served either cold or hot.
By creating your own homemade soup you can control the salt content by using herbs and natural flavors. Chilling stock and removing the fat that surfaces reduces fat content, though some flavor will be lost in the process. Cooking the vegetables properly minimizes vitamin loss.
Smooth, gelatinous, chilled, hearty or creamy, a good bowl of soup will caress the palate and become a delectable option when you are feeling under the weather.
Double boiled shark’s fin soup Creamy Sweet Potato Shrimp Soup With Malunggay
100 grams Magnolia Gold Lite butter
1 cup chopped white onions
500 grams small shrimp peeled
3 cups sweet potato, peeled and cubed (kamote, preferably the yellow variety)
2 cups water
1-1/2 tsp. fine salt
½ tsp. Pepper
3 cups Magnolia fresh milk
1 cup fresh malunggay leaves for topping
Bak kut teh clear broth with pork 1) Prepare a 3-quart soup pan and ladle.
2) Put light butter and onions in the soup pan and cook until onions are translucent. Add shrimps and cook for 2 minutes. Set aside.
3) Add sweet potato, water, salt, and pepper in the same pan. Cover. Let boil for 15 minutes and puree using a hand blender or regular blender.
4) Return mixture to the soup together with shrimps and milk and continue to cook until simmering. Divide the 6 portions and top with malunggay leaves. Serves 6.
