Egg-Topped Glass Noodles Soup

Egg-Topped Glass Noodles Soup

Fall is in the air which fits the bill for hot and soul-satisfying soups for lunch. All the left-over bits of vegetables and tofu from the fridge form the base for this meal in a bowl. 

Egg Adds More Protein

My preference for glass noodles over egg noodles lies in its make-up. Glass noodles are made from mung beans whereas egg noodles are made from wheat so there are less carbohydrates in the former. Tofu is high in protein and low in fat which makes it an excellent choice for this meal, but any form of protein works in the soup.

Fast & Easy Prep

The ingredients for the soup were previously chopped and left over, making it really easy to dump into some chicken broth. The glass noodles simply need to be soaked in boiling broth and cut with scissors into smaller lengths directly in the saucepan. I used triple-washed baby spinach, kale and other greens that came prepped from the store. To add some more flavour, the egg was beaten with a touch of chicken bouillon powder before topping the soup.

Chingri Maacher Malai Curry - Shrimp in Coconut Sauce

 Chingri Maacher Malai Curry

The perfect festive dish to take along to a potluck, this shrimp curry is a Bengali favourite at any gathering. Malai means cream, but instead of using whipping cream, cream from a can of coconut milk is used. Suppress the natural inclination to shake the can before opening, and remove the cream that collects on the inside of the can top and keep scooping out the coconut cream from the can until the thin coconut milk becomes visible.

Purchase the largest raw shrimp that is available. I was lucky enough to find peeled & deveined shrimp that tasted divine. My indication of success is when children like what I cook and had fun watching the littlest kids clamoring for 'fish!' last night at a Diwali potluck.

First Cooking of Shrimp

To keep the shrimp soft and succulent, I introduced them to the sauce at the start, removed them and reintroduced them at the end of the cooking process.

Knowing there were going to be children at this get-together, I kept away from the stronger spices and kept the sauce simple.

Scrambled Tofu & Eggs Akuri

Scrambled Tofu & Eggs Akuri

Eggs Akuri is a common Parsi breakfast dish that is served all over India.

Prepped Ingredients

Beaten eggs are combined with diced onions, tomatoes, green chilies and cilantro for a very tasty accompaniment to buttered toast. In Bengali households this style of scrambled eggs are given a bright golden colour with the addition of turmeric powder.

Extra-Firm Tofu

I figured tofu would taste great with the scrambled eggs because of its firm and silky texture. To give it an Indo-Chinese twist, the diced cubes of tofu were tossed in chicken bouillon powder to give the tasteless tofu some punch. After allowing them to sit for 10 minutes, the cubes of tofu were mashed with a fork and soaked in beaten eggs before scrambling.

Chicken Bouillon Powder

No salt was added because the bouillon powder was salty enough.

These scrambled eggs taste great with buttered toast or hot chapatis or even steamed long-grain rice. I can imagine them stuffed inside egg parathas or bread pakoras...the possibilities are endless!

Burmese Fish Ball Sipyan

Burmese Fish Ball Sipyan

Fish balls remind me of the time a group of co-workers and I went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant and I ordered fish ball and watercress soup. A Chinese lady and I were the only ones who had ever heard of fish balls, so it was the source of much amusement and glee for our meat-and-potatoes comrades. 

Fish balls can be made at home, but are readily available in Asian markets here in North America. When made from scratch, all the tastes that make them uniquely Burmese can be added to the fish mixture so that the flavors permeate from the inside out. Using generic fish balls from the market requires that they be simmered long and slow and, for this, the sipyan method works best. 'Sipyan' translates to 'oil returns' which requires a simmering process on medium-low heat that evaporates the liquid until all the oil rises to the surface.