Hot and Sour Soup

Hot & Sour Soup

A favorite soup we like to order at Thai and Chinese restaurants, this hot & sour soup is pretty straightforward to prepare at home. Myriad videos abound on the internet for this soup from which I have taken the best parts to come up with my recipe.

A specialty item that gives this soup some of its tang is Chinese pickled vegetables which, unfortunately, can only be found in Asian markets. The heat in this soup is imparted by a whole dried red chili and black pepper powder. On these cold and dreary days, this hot & sour soup brings immense comfort.

Stir-Fried Tofu & Bok Choy

Stir-Fried Tofu & Bok Choy

A quick and easy stir-fry that took under 15 minutes from stove to table, was our dinner last night. Extra-firm tofu is a staple in our fridge along with simple sauces like teriyaki and oyster sauces. A dash of sesame oil, as a garnish, made a delicious gravy that went well with a steaming bowl of rice.

Burmese Stir-Fried Tofu - ShanTofu Kyet

Shan Tofu Kyet

Shan Tofu Kyet originated in the Shan states of Myanmar or Burma.  Made traditionally with yellow tofu (derived from ground & steamed chickpeas), the more commonly found white soya bean tofu can also be used in this dish. Mashed tofu is stir-fried with fish sauce, fresh tomatoes, minced onions and garlic, and garnished with cilantro and green chilies.

This tofu dish is usually served as a side dish with steamed long-grain rice accompanied by meat or fish and some vegetable soup (hin cho). 

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.

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!

Thai Tom Yum Goong - Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup

Thai Hot & Sour Soup

Bowl of Tom Yum

The inspiration for this soup came from a friend on Facebook asking for a Hot & Sour Soup recipe which led me to Closet Cooking. We had it for lunch for lunch today which along with an egg roll each, made for a filling and satisying meal. Because some of the ingredients were missing from my pantry, I had to make some modifications so I've described, below, what I did to reproduce the recipe.

The hot part of this soup came from a combination of minced green chilies and gochujang, a Korean chili paste that I love! The sour aspect came simply from the juice of one lime. I dropped the squeezed out rinds of lime into the soup and fished them out before serving. This made up for the absence of lemon grass. 

Singapore Rice Noodles with Asparagus & Chicken

Singapore Noodles

This is one of my favourite dishes to order at a Chinese restaurant. It's made with thin rice noodles (Mei Fun) which are available in the international aisle of our local supermarket. 

Tofu Eggs Akuri - Indian-Style Scrambled Eggs with Tofu

Tofu Eggs Akuri

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

The 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 soaked in beaten eggs before scrambling. No salt was added because the bouillon powder was salty enough.

Chicken Bouillon Powder

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 Tofu Salad

Tofu Salad

I've been trying to include more protein in my diet, so tofu has featured on my grocery list  of late. I have it in Miso Soup and thought why not substitute soybean tofu for chickpea tohu. Admittedly, it's not half as tasty as Burmese Tohu Salad, but it satiated my craving for Burmese flavours just as well. I used dry balachaung and pickled jalapeno peppers to garnish the salad.

Miso Soup

Miso Soup

This soup was so quick and easy to make, it was perfect for lunch served alongside fried dumplings. It tasted just like the miso soup served in Japanese restaurants. Another use for the yellow miso paste that sits in a large tub in our fridge. Thank goodness it lasts in the fridge forever. Notice there is no mention of salt and that's because the miso is quite salty. Adjust salt according to taste. 

Tofu Hand-Tossed in Ta-Dang Chili Paste

Tofu Hand-Tossed in Ta-Dang Chili Paste

The inspiration for this dish came from my best friend I meet for lunch on a regular basis. We meet in the food-court of a mall, but for the last couple of years we haven't needed to buy lunch because she brings all kinds of interesting eats with her. This is one that reminds me of potato chips or popcorn. You can never take just one bite! Every time we have this, I try to extract the recipe from her, but she just isn't into writing down her recipes and neither is she precise with her measuresments of ingredients. So I've concocted my own recipe and while she makes hers on the stovetop, I cooked this in the microwave.

Thai Maesri Ta-Dang Chili Paste

BFF is a vegetarian and uses Sambal Oelek (chili-garlic paste) among other ingredients, but I have this bottle sitting in my fridge that I use in cooking Burmese food. 

The Ingredients

Ta-Dang chili paste has an interesting list of ingredients that goes something like this: dried red chilies 25%, shallots 20%, garlic 14%, tamarind juice 14%, sugar 1%, salt 7%, dried shrimp 5%, anchovy fish sauce 4%, MSG 1 % - no artificial color or preservatives. This worked perfectly, along with deep-fried onions and garlic, which have been mixed together in a microwave-safe dish.

Mix Tofu with Chili Paste Gently by Hand

To preserve the integrity of the tofu, everything was mixed together gently by hand. That's one reason I decided to do this in the microwave because tofu is so delicate and it was one way to leave the cubes whole and unbroken.

After Microwaving for 1 Minute

The tofu was cooked on high power in the microwave for one minute and then taken out and stirred with a fork.

Microwave for 2 Minutes More

After microwaving for 2 minutes more, it was ready to eat! This will taste great with steamed rice, but tastes just as great eaten on its own.

Ingredients:

1 block of extra-firm tofu, cubed

2 tsp. Ta-Dang chili paste

2 Tbsp. deep-fried onions

2 Tbsp. deep-fried garlic

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients gently by hand in a microwavable dish.
2. Microwave on high power for one minute, remove from oven & stir with a fork.
3. Return to microwave oven for 2 more minutes and it's done!

Serve on its own as an appetizer or with steamed rice.

Burmese Kya Zan Chet - Bean-Thread Vermicelli Soup

Kya Zan Chet

This is a hearty soup made from chicken broth and bean thread vermicelli with tofu and eggs for protein and a variety of pickled vegetables that add a tart and tangy flavor to the soup.

Bean thread noodles are a staple at Asian markets. It comes in bundles of dry, almost plastic like threads, eight bundles to a package. When they are submerged and softened in boiling water, the threads plump up and turn transparent, which is why these noodles are often referred to as glass or cellophane noodles. Used extensively in South East Asia, these noodles are gluten-free and made from mung bean starch. They are used in soups, stir-fries, salads and spring rolls. In Burma, the name is kya zan. Chet simply means 'cooked'.

Chinese Preserved Vegetables

The other prominent ingredient in my soup was one-quarter of a package of salty, sour and spicy Chinese vegetables. preserved in red chili paste and oil. One package goes a long way so after opening the package, I generally divide the contents into four tightly covered containers and refrigerate them. From what I could make out, the vegetables include cabbage, turnip, stems of mustard greens,  and wood-ear mushrooms.

Tofu & Garnishes

A slab of cubed tofu was added for protein and deep-fried onions and garlic garnished each bowl of soup.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

6 cups chicken broth

1 bundle mung bean thread vermicelli

1/2 block extra-firm tofu, cubed

1/4 pkg. Chinese preserved vegetables

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. chicken powder

salt & pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten with salt

deep-fried onions

deep-fried garlic

Directions:

1. Rinse preserved vegetables to get rid of excess salt, drain, chop & set aside.
2. Bring chicken broth to a boil and add vermicelli.
3. Transfer vermicelli to a plate after it softens and cut into smaller lengths.
4. Return vermicelli to soup pot and add the next 4 ingredients.
5. Simmer over medium-high heat for 10 minutes until vegetables soften.
6. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and remove soup from heat.
7. Beat eggs with salt and pour in a thin stream while stirring the soup in one direction.
8. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with deep-fried onions & garlic.

Serve immediately.