I did it!! Spring Pea Soup

YES. We finally had soup and sandwich for lunch today. HURRAH! I feel very triumphant. You should know-- Pan is very picky, and he leans towards asian style meals all the time. All. The. Time. But today was different-- oh yes indeed-- i woke up early, fed the dog, embarked on a challenging task of making and drinking a kale smoothie, drank said kale smoothie and survived (I cheated and used naked juice to sweeten the deal) and went grocery shopping. Fuelled with a buzz that I had never felt before (I attribute it to the kale in the juice), I shopped for what I would have wanted to see for lunch. That meant turkey sandwiches and a light, smooth pea soup.

No pictures or even an appropriate recipe, because I was so high on life I didn't even measure anything. This girl is on fire!


Well, by the time Julian was up I had already cooked my soup and taste-tested some turkey and smoked salmon sandwiches (individually, obviously)  heh heh heh, and when he asked what was for lunch, i said

(nonchalantly, somewhat earnestly and willing-to-please): "oh I made some pea soup and was planning for us to have that with some sandwiches.. But I know you hate peas so if you really want I have an alternative menu I can cook up?"

Pan: "Oh well, I suppose we could eat that for lunch..."

Me cutting in: "Super! That would make me sooo happy. Are you sure? You are such a dear!"

HO HO HO! Reverse psychology FTW!


So we had pea soup and sandwiches for lunch. Unprecedented. I have been together with this man for over 4 years, and never had we had soup and sandwiches for lunch. What's more, he LIKED the soup! He actually LIKED it! In his words "Mmmm, this is good soup!" SCORE! For a man who has not eaten a SINGLE pea since he was 10 years old, and who turns his nose up on mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin (and similarly, peas) because of their "mushy" texture. Good Lord I thank thee.

Here's my rough recipe. I had some beautiful chicken stock that came from steaming chicken drumsticks, so it was very concentrated and full of chickeny goodness. I am sure that a good (not swansons for this please), possibly organic store-bought chicken stock will stand in nicely.

SPRING PEA SOUP

Serves 4
prep time: 5 minutes 
total cooking time: 40 minutes 

(Image credits: http://www.velavanstores.com/green-peas.asp)









Ingredients

2 tbs butter
1 tbs garlic oil (recipe to come soon. YOU MUST MAKE THIS. IT IS IMPERATIVE.)  1 large russet potato, peeled and coarsely diced
1/4 vidalia onion, sliced (i'm sure a yellow onion would have been ok too.. I chose vidalia because I conveniently had a quarter in my fridge, and I like the soft, sweet texture) 
4 cups of shelled, frozen peas (obviously fresh would have been better)
pinch of salt and black pepper
1.5 cups chicken broth/stock 


Method:

Heat butter and oil up in a medium-sized pot on medium heat, add onions to sweat (5 minutes), then the potatoes (10 minutes), stirring often to prevent from sticking.
When the potatoes start to brown, add your peas, and season with some salt and black pepper. Try not to keep on tasting the mixture, or else you'd find that your end recipe only serves 3!

One recipe I found suggested putting some ascorbic acid in the soup at this point to keep the vibrant green of the peas from discoloring as it cooks. It suggested that you crush up a vit c pill if you did not have ascorbic acid on hand (well I don't, do you?) 
So just to report back, I tried this trick with some apprehension.. The color looked.. fine, taste wise it did not make the soup taste like citrus, so.. try it maybe?

Once all your peas are soft, cool your mixture down (I cheated and used 5 ice cubes to cool it down rapidly) and transfer everything to the blender. Make sure that the peas are entirely soft here-- there will be little to no more cooking after this step, and tough pea coverings are a let down to this creamy delight).
Whizz it in your blender, starting from the lowest setting to the highest, and keep your hand securely on the lid (cover the lid with a kitchen towel if you are afraid of hot liquid projectiles!), until the mixture is smooth.
 Pour it back into the pot, adding some more water to the blender to capture all your precious pea soup, and use it to thin the soup if you find it too thick.
 Reheat to simmer, taste for seasonings (salt, black pepper and garlic oil) if needed and texture (add more water or chicken broth), serve.


I don't like soups that are too thick with potato. A couple of months back I wasted two cans of artichoke hearts on a terrible recipe that called for too much potato, and i was left with a gummy mess. It broke my artichoke heart, so I always err on the side of using less potato in such creamy soups than too much.

Play around with this recipe! It is cheap and easy to make; you might as well tweak it to your liking ;) hopefully your partner will be as receptive to this soup as mine was. 


Edit: I tasted this soup cold (I had leftovers in the fridge). AMAZING!!!

Mapo Doufu

Ok folks. Here's something for those craving Chinese food that is lighter, flavorful, and doesn't cost very much to make. Well, provided that you have most of the primary ingredients.

So here's the thing about cooking Chinese food in the US, especially in non-Asian households. It can be challenging because you aren't familiar with the ingredients and how the final dish, the dish you've slaved so hard over, is supposed to taste. It also can frustrate the hell out of you because you don't have all the "exotic" ingredients waiting for you in the pantry. I get it.

So get these three items:

These two sauces are quintessential when cooking Chinese food, be it Sichuanese, Hunanese, Hokkien or Cantonese. Just get it. And oh hey, if you don't have the one on the right, the lighter brown bean paste, substitute it with miso. Just make sure it doesn't have dashi or MSG in it. It's.. an acceptable compromise, by my standards. Let's face it, girl's gotta put food on the table!

I like soft toufu for this dish because it melds so nicely with the sauce. Don't fret it you've got medium or hard toufu or whatever. It's personal preference. Mao will not turn in his grave. How to tell it's soft toufu? The packet should say so? Or else, pick one that is for soup or steaming. Hope that helps me remember! 

Also, this is a MUST if you want the tongue-numbing sensation and/or the fruity-floral taste of Sichuanese dishes. A MUST for this dish. I use about 1/2 to 1 tbs of this sensational spice for this dish. Please, feel free to add more if you like a culinary challenge. I have friends who eat Sichuan hot pot primarily for this spice. In Singlish, we call them "siao", ie crazy asses.

I believe some packets call it prickly ash.  Pick out the twigs, use the rest whole or ground in a mortar.

and.. to re-emphasize how in-authentic a cook I am, and also how resourceful and adaptive, use korean chili powder for anything mildly spicy, or buy a packet of dried chilis from an asian supermarket for a bigger kick.

Now, the recipe. I've been cooking this for ages, adapting a site I used to visit. Recently I bought Fushia Dunlop's Land of Plenty and realised it was rather similar! Except that her recipe uses beef instead of pork. I've never tried it but can only imagine I'd prefer the milder flavor of pork in here.
She also puts leeks in here. I never do, because Pan is picky about his food and this is one of the only ways I can get him to eat toufu, so no way am I going to jeopardize that by putting in a veggie he's not fond of. If you do use leeks, use only the soft white part, slice thinly on the diagonal, and add it in step 1.

Also,  possible vegan note: sub out the chicken broth for veggie, and pork for chopped mushrooms, and this could be an ideal meal! I must try this out.

Mapo Doufu Recipe 

Adapted from Appetite for China

Feeds 4 as a side dish (I paired it with a snow pea and shredded rotisserie chicken I had left over.. look!)

Prep time: 5 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

1)   1 tub soft tofu roughly cut into 1-inch cubes (or larger)

2)   1 tbs vegetable oil

3)   ½ lb = 8 ounces ground pork

4)   4 cloves garlic, minced

5)   2.5 TBS chili bean paste AND 1 TBS fermented black bean paste  or: 3 tbs dark brown dou jiang + 1 tbs chinese style sambal chili

7)   0.5 to 1 tbs Sichuan pepper (prickly ash), ground into powder

8)   2 tsp white sugar

9)   2 tsp light soy sauce

10) 1.5 cup chicken stock /water

11)  ~ 3 tbs cornstarch mixed with 4 tbs cold water

12) garnish: 2 bunches of spring onions, diced.

Optional:

1)   1 pack of white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2) Two young leeks, washed, white tender parts sliced thinly on the diagonal

Instructions

Heat veggie oil in a wok over high heat. Add garlic and mushrooms and stir-fry until fragrant.

Reduce heat to medium, add minced pork and stir-fry until brown. Add your choice of either/or for number 5) and the ground Sichuan pepper, and fry for about 1 minute, until the oil is a rich red color.

Pour in the stock and stir well.  Season with the sugar, soy sauce, and salt to taste. At this point, taste it. It should taste savory, rich, with a tinge of sweetness.

Mix in the drained tofu gently by pushing the back of your ladle or wok scoop gently from the edges to the center of the wok or pan; don't plop the whole box in or you will have sauce all over your stove and your shirt! 

Stir very gently and only as needed, or the tofu will break up into mush. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes, allowing the tofu to absorb the flavors of the sauce.

Then add the cornstarch mixture in 2 or 3 stages as required, mixing as you go. The sauce should just cover the back of your ladle. if it's too runny, you'll find that this dish doesn't taste as good because the sauce doesn't stick to the toufu. If it's too thick, every bite you take of the dish will be far too flavorful and you won't be able to enjoy very much of it. 

Enjoy!