66 posts Posts by julie

Variations on Quick Noodle Soups

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Quick noodle soups have become a default meal of mine. When I started working from home a number of years ago, I found myself with a bit more time and flexibility, and so I started falling into the luxurious habit of making myself a hot lunch in the middle of the day (or mid-morning, or late afternoon, or whenever, really). And thanks to my Southeast Asian blood, what I seemed to crave most of the time was a steaming hot bowl of noodle soup (which I can eat yearround, even in the dead of summer). Obviously, the traditional noodle soups are too involved to whip up for lunch, and while instant noodles are fast, they are anything but healthy. But what I realized was that if I was willing to open up a bag of noodles and put a pot of water on the stove, it wouldn’t take much more effort to make a simple noodle soup from scratch. Actually, it wouldn’t take much longer than waiting for water to boil.

Here is the basic formula I follow : broth (+ infusions) + noodles + meat / veggies (+ garnishes).

Most of the time my quick noodle soups come together from leftovers, and often it starts with leftover chicken stock from poaching chicken, which I keep frozen in small portions. But you can use whatever you have on hand. If you keep just a few common kitchen staples, like a can of broth, some dried noodles (even if it happens to be ramen — just throw out the seasoning packets), an egg, and maybe some fresh or frozen vegetables, you have the makings of a noodle soup. If you cook more regularly, you may also have some onion or garlic on hand, some dried spices, and maybe even some broth-infusing elements like bonito flakes, dried shiitake mushrooms, or dried scallops, in which case you’re well on your way to a gourmet meal. Depending on how much time, energy, or ingredients you have, you can keep it really simple or take a few extra steps when you’re able to. This meal works just as well for a weeknight dinner, when you want something filling and balanced without too much effort.

To give you an idea of some noodle soup combinations that can be generated from this basic formula, Becca kindly put together a chart and some recipe flashcards for me, which you can see above. If you scroll to the end of this post, you’ll find a link to download this to print and cut up if you wish. But here is the center chart in more readable size:

Formula

And here are some additional tips and ideas…

flavors

– Vary the herbs, spices, or seasonings to create noodle soups inspired by some of your favorite cuisines. For example, start with kimchi and gochujang, and you have the beginnings of a Korean budaejjigae. Infuse some coconut milk with galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaf, and you’re on your way to a Thai tom kha gai. Neither of those are traditionally served as noodle soups, but they can be adapted to work that way.

noodle

– Here is the key to making noodle soups quick: find a noodle that will not require a separate pot. I am a huge fan of bean thread noodles (also called glass noodles or cellophane noodles), because they not only cook quickly but, more importantly, can be cooked directly in the same pot as the soup since they are not as starchy and will not cloud up the broth. You might even call bean thread noodles my secret to making noodle soup with no effort. Put them in the broth at the beginning, and by the time the liquid comes up to a boil, the noodles will almost be done. They will even absorb the broth and take on flavor, and for that reason it’s a good idea to salt the broth at the start.

– Instant noodles (aka, ramen) can also be used, since they’re meant to be cooked directly in the “soup,” though I actually do parboil my instant ramen separately to get rid of some of the wax and grease. Just toss out the seasoning packets since you’ll be creating your own soup. Instant ramen has such a bad reputation in the US, where it’s mostly considered cheap college student food. But in Asia, instant ramen comes in many, many varieties, and some of them are quite good! Some instant noodles actually use rice noodles, which cook up quickly and are not flash-fried like the instant wheat ramen noodles are.

– Most other noodles, particularly Asian noodles, require a separate pot of water. They should be cooked until just done and then rinsed in a sieve under cold water. I realize this is not what’s recommended for pasta, which requires some starch to help the sauce cling better. But when you’re serving noodles in broth, it is better to rinse off the excess starch in cold water so that (1) it stops the cooking process and gives your noodles a nice firm bite; (2) the excess starch does not cloud up your broth, muddying the flavor and texture; and (3) the noodles will not stick together and therefore will offer a much cleaner, less-goopy, more-satisfying texture when you put them in hot broth (otherwise you kind of just get a mouthful of starchy liquid rather than being able to taste noodles and broth distinctly).

– Pasta can work here too, even though the idea of noodle soup seems to point more toward Asian cuisines. Egg noodles are an obvious choice (as in chicken noodle soup), but there’s also vermicelli or tagliatelle, as well as orzo (which is similar to rice). My dad frequently uses star pasta mixed with ground beef to create a type of Vietnamese “congee” that is served as the last course in the Vietnamese 7 courses of beef. Hong Kong diner macaroni soup also comes to mind — try it with strips of ham or, as my dad often does, with ground pork. (See note on ground meat below.)

ahrimp

– When it comes to protein, eggs are very convenient for noodle soups. You can try cooking them in various ways, like poaching straight in the broth, soft- or hard-boiling them separately (if you’re already using a separate pot to cook noodles, cook the egg in it too), or whisking and then streaming them into the broth like in egg-drop soup.

– Don’t underestimate tofu. There’s a wide range in types of tofu, from soft silken tofu that breaks up in the broth, to denser types that holds its shape, to convenient frozen tofu puffs that are often included in noodle soups like laksa or bun rieu. You can also just freeze regular tofu (especially if you find yourself unable to finish it in a few days), which causes it to take on a spongey texture that is perfect for absorbing broth!

– Ground meat is another option and something my dad frequently uses in soups. His method is to pour a bit of the hot broth into a bowl with the raw ground meat, stir up the meat to separate it, and then pour all of this back into the simmering broth. This keeps the ground meat loose in the soup and is a really easy alternative to meatballs, though of course you could also just drop clumps of seasoned ground meat into the stock.

– Lastly, you can always pick up some ready-made protein on your way home, like rotisserie chicken or Cantonese roast duck or cha siu. A bowl of yellow egg noodles in chicken broth, topped with roast duck and some gai lan (Chinese broccoli) is a meal worthy of a Hong-Kong diner. Sprinkle some dried flounder powder into the broth, and you might even convince yourself you’re at Mak’s Noodle. :)

salt

– There are so many rich, deeply flavored, even funky fermented ingredients you can use to salt your broth. Be adventurous. Try melting some fermented bean curd into the stock to create a creamy soup (my dad makes an excellent lamb hot pot with fermented bean curd as a base). Add some shrimp paste to a tomato- and pork-based broth, and you have the semblance of bun rieu or khanom jeen nam ngiaw.

garnish

– For me, this is what elevates the humblest bowl of soup and noodles. Some days, I could have nothing more than a can of chicken broth and some bean thread noodles. But then I top that off with thinly sliced scallions, a few sprigs of cilantro, fried shallots (which you can also buy dried with a long shelf-life, by the way), some sesame oil, and a dab of Chiu Chow Chili Oil — and it feels like a pretty special meal. Whatever it is that makes a dish for you — whether it’s the perfect chili sauce or a dash of your favorite seasoning — keep it on hand to turn simple meals into something satisfying.

Do you have a favorite noodle soup combination? Please share it in the comments! I’d love to gather more ideas for quick meal options. :)

Click on the picture below for the printable PDF.

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Portland Saturday Farmers’ Market at PSU

As much as I love the markets in Asia, to be honest, sometimes (particularly in China) you just don’t know what you’re getting at some of these places. As you may well have heard, food in China is notorious for its questionable quality — from exploding watermelon to glow-in-the-dark meat, and much (much) more. I’m afraid I’ve grown rather paranoid since being here. One time, I was washing greens and discovered in horror that the water I was using was turning fluorescent green! Let me tell you, I have never been so conscious about where my food comes from as I have living in Beijing. I’m grateful that there’s enough of an expat community here for there to be some organic options available. And, yes, “organic” can be a loose term in China, but there are a number of people here who really believe in the organic movement and do good work, and we try to find out as much as we can about the places we get our food from. (There are also those who believe that “organic” simply is not possible in a place like China, but I try not to dwell too much on that while I’m living here.)

Given all this, you can imagine my relief when I went back to Portland last month. See, Portland is just about as opposite as you can get from China. And, as I mentioned in my previous post, sometimes it can be a bit of a culture shock even for folks coming from other parts of the US. As a whole, the city is just so enthusiastic about being environmentally friendly, sustainable, local, organic, and just all-around keeping it real, almost to a fault. They even have their own version of Whole Foods — a local, privately owned chain in the area called New Seasons.

Ironically, because fresh, clean food is available widely throughout Portland, I haven’t really made a special effort to go to a farmer’s market there before. But one day on our recent visit, after we dropped our toddler off at my mother-in-law’s, my husband and I were setting out for a morning of errands when my brother-in-law called and casually mentioned that he was at the farmer’s market. Well, we promptly cancelled all plans, and within half an hour, we’d arrived at the farmer’s market, where my brother-in-law greeted us with food already in hand — something he was referring to as the “Paleo Plate” — but let me get to that later…

First, I have to say I was so happy to see so much organic, clean, fresh food, I almost felt healthier just being surrounded by it. It’s funny because we often think of going to markets in other countries to see exotic ingredients, but I had almost the same feeling at the Portland Farmers’ Market. For example, I’ve only seen lacinato kale (or “dinosaur kale” — the dark green fronds pictured in the lower left above) on blogs. And I’ve never seen these little mini pumpkins on branches before at all (pictured below).

It’d also been a while since I’d seen things like romanesco (below) or golden or spiral beets. In fact, I ended up buying a variety of these vegetables to make for several dinners I was helping my parents to host later in the week.

Even better than bringing fresh produce home, though, was getting to eat right at the market. The Saturday market, if I’m not mistaken, is the largest of the farmers’ markets, and there are plenty of vendors throughout to get full meals from. A lot of these vendors also have stores or restaurants in the city, some of which I had been wanting to visit, so it really was great to be able to find them all in one place here.

We bought some salami from Chop, one of which we actually brought back to Beijing with us. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized the package indicated that they don’t use nitrates in their salami (I love Portland artisans!). We also sampled some mushroom miso soup at the Springwater Farm stand, which was perfect on a chilly fall day.

I couldn’t help trying some sausage gravy and biscuits at the Pine State Biscuits stand. I don’t even like biscuits, but I’d heard so many good things about them that I had to sample it myself, and I can definitely say these fluffy, rich biscuits are likely the only ones I’ve ever loved. Below, too, you’ll see samples of Dave’s Killer Bread, which my good friend Chau had tipped me off on early in my trip. She said it’s so good she got her dad addicted to it when he was in town, and now she has to supply him with shipments to Arizona every so often. :) Their bread is organic, whole grain, and utterly delicious.

And, finally, I have saved the best for last here, because even though they were the first stand we saw, they were also the last (it was so good we went back again :). This is Verde Cocina, where they hand-make their tortillas…

… grill their meat and veggies in such a fashion as to look like they’re inviting everyone to a picnic right there at the market…

… and serve up this most incredible dish that they call, yes, the “Paleo Plate” — a vibrant mix of grilled vegetables served alongside thick fat slabs of crispy salty sweet bacon. This was the dish my brother-in-law called the best thing there, and he did not steer us wrong.

To top off our cultural experience in Portland, I have to mention how my brother-in-law also happened to run into a local Portland friend of his at the market — someone who actually has no phone or email (and thus can only be run into, not met), and was carrying all of his possessions in the mid-size backpack he had on. Just as he was explaining to us how a phone prevents you from being truly present when you are with people, our cell phone promptly rang (it was my parents, but we couldn’t take the call in good conscience at that point). It was, you know, just another average encounter in Portland! This friend, too, remarked on how my husband was carrying around beets that we had just bought inside his coat (this was partly to free up his hands for eating :) [edit: and also because they’ve banned plastic bags with handles!], and he took this opportunity to explain Portland to us. See, he said, it wouldn’t be surprising if people thought you were really onto something there, and then next week you see several people carrying their groceries around in their coats like that, and then before you know, it shows up on Portlandia!

So — there’s Portland for you.

“Now wasn’t that so much more fun than running errands?” my brother-in-law asks. :)

Still Surviving in Beijing

My family and I just returned from our first visit back to the US since we moved to China almost a year and a half ago. This was a somewhat unplanned trip, and our intention was simply to give our lungs a much-needed break and to restore some sanity after a bit of a tough year here.

Now that we’re back in Beijing and almost halfway through our term in China, I’ve been trying to gather some of my thoughts on our time here. Partly, this has led me to acknowledge just how behind I am on blog posts! There have been so many experiences I’ve wanted to share here — about our travels, encounters with local life and culture, recipe experimentations — but for some reason or another, I have just gotten stalled on them. I also haven’t quite figured out how to share more about everyday life here without turning this into an expat blog, and I’m hoping to find a way to do a little more of that.

Among the reasons I haven’t been writing as often as I’d like (besides wanting to spend more time with my son!) is that I’ve been down with sickness much more often this past year than I think I ever have been. Whether it was food poisoning (I don’t think I’d ever even gotten food poisoning in my life, despite all the questionable things I consume when traveling, but I was out for a full week earlier this year for no apparent reason), or asthmatic episodes (I also have no history of asthma but was hit with an episode right at the start of 2013, when the air pollution in Beijing made world news), or just constantly coming down with colds and terrible sinus infections. I also think many of the challenges of living here have put a strain on my psyche (I have become a total hypochondriac! And claustrophobic, among other things). The rest of my family remained fairly healthy — that is, up until this past summer, when our toddler began to show symptoms of asthma as well. I have to say that my already low spirits really plummeted at that point, and I had to ask myself why we were here, and more importantly, how could we have brought our baby here? It was hard on everyone to have to physically force our little one (he was not yet 2 then) to use an inhaler, even with the spacer tube for toddlers. Even though we have an upcoming trip scheduled to the US in the spring, we decided it would be worthwhile to take a break from China now.

View from our compound on a bad-air day in Beijing.

So E and I spent a little over five weeks in Portland, where both my and my husband’s families now live (my husband later joined us to spend Thanksgiving there). Neither of us have ever lived in Portland, but it has definitely become one of our favorite cities (coffee shops! bookstores! food carts! FRESH AIR!!). And coming from China, I just can’t think of a better landing place. It really felt like we were in an alternate universe at times — some otherworldly place where the entire city composts, the air is crisp, the tap water tastes good, there are bike lanes everywhere, and drivers actually stop for pedestrians not only at stop signs but pretty much any time you look like you’re trying to cross the street. (Side note: stop signs were one of my reverse culture-shock moments — I completely forgot they even existed and often waited for traffic to clear before crossing the street.) Indeed, I think Portland is considered somewhat of an enlightened place even for visitors from other parts of the US, so landing there right after 16 months in China truly felt like we were heading to another foreign country.

Fall in downtown Portland.

Among the liberating experiences upon arriving back on American soil was being able to get in a car and drive anywhere I wanted to go — not to mention that I knew just where to go for anything that I needed. (We haven’t gotten around to getting our driver’s licenses in China; it’s one of our priorities in 2014, and I’m sure it will be an interesting experience!) Another reverse culture-shock moment was seeing how people don’t use GPS systems anymore — they use their phones and attach them to these nifty little devices that hold them up in the car — how completely novel, right? :) I asked my husband, “Do you catch yourself thinking, ‘Oh, so that’s what people do these days,’ or ‘So this is what the outside world is like’?” :) I marveled at how cheap everything was (like plain, no-sugar Cheerios, which, when I finally managed to track it down in Beijing [at City Shop, if that helps anyone out there], cost about 10 USD a box). I went to Target every couple days and wished that I could buy everything (and bring it back with me to China!). We also went on walks and short hikes in the forests and spent lots of time with family and friends and had playdates all around the city. A dear friend of mine lent me her bike, and I was even able to slip out one morning before E saw me and take a short ride on one of the trails near my parents’ house. I savored the luxury of uncensored internet, not having to show ID every time I came home, and not living in a bugged compound where we sometimes find ourselves writing notes to each other.

All in all, I felt like a human being again!

Lower Macleay Trail in Portland

Yet at the same time, I’ve been trying to tell myself that many of these new experiences and realizations are one of the reasons why we wanted to live abroad. We still believe there’s meaningful work to be done here and enriching experiences to be had. The expat life can be so surreal at times. One moment you’re sitting down to a beautiful Italian meal deep in the back alleys of Beijing, and then in another moment you’re desperately trying to save every last precious Cheerio that your toddler spilled all over the kitchen floor. I find myself conflicted as to how exactly to share about our life in China at all, because it can by turns seem either ridiculously extravagant (like jetting off to Seoul for a few days) or woefully unreal (like questioning the safety of every imaginable thing).

Life in the hutongs (back alleys) of Beijing (as viewed from an Italian restaurant where my husband and I had an anniversary dinner).

For now, all we can really do is to try to take things as they come. Our intention has been to stay here for a 3-year term, and possibly even extend that stay. Now, we find ourselves saying, “let’s take it a year at a time,” or “let’s see how this winter goes” — if not even just “let’s see what the pollution is like tomorrow.” Indeed, the unpredictable air quality here means that when the air is suddenly good outside, we immediately drop all our plans (including potty training) and head outdoors for as long as we can. Just this past weekend, the air quality index hovered around 450 (for reference, 50 and below is considered good, and 500 is the top of the index), and then suddenly on Sunday night it started dipping down toward 50. So of course we ditched the rest of our stay-at-home plans, slapped a diaper on our kid (they say this negates your training efforts, but what can you do?), and went out for dinner, some errands, and a walk.

So this, dear readers, is some of what’s been transpiring between posts over here. Thanks for still sticking around and for reading thus far. Hopefully, over the next little while, I can fill in a bit more on other happenings that have taken place, like visiting more fish sauce factories, eating ramen anonymously, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves at the fresh farmer’s market in Portland. Stay tuned!

smashed cucumbers (pai huang gua 拍黄瓜)

Cucumber has become what I associate with summertime in Beijing. During these oppressively hot months, you’ll often see street vendors selling not popsicles (ok, you can find those too) but, yes, cucumbers — on a stick!

Last summer, when Becca visited and we went to the Summer Palace, we came across just these cucumber street vendors and couldn’t resist giving it a try. For a couple kuai you can have the cucumbers peeled and attached to a stick to make for easier munching as you stroll through the Long Corridor or climb up Longevity Hill.

It’s convenient that cucumbers are considered cooling in both American and Chinese cultures, so it’s not too hard to accept this as a good and healthy snack in hot weather. But on top of that, I should point out that the cucumbers in China are just plain delicious. None of the waxy skin, none of the watery, bland flavor. They’re of a variety that is long and skinny, with a somewhat prickly skin. But the most distinctive characteristic of these cucumbers is that they are wonderfully, satisfyingly crunchy. They beg to be taken up in your fist and munched on right on the spot. Those street vendors really have the right idea!

We are fortunate to get an organic CSA-type delivery here, and during the weeks of summer, the cucumbers have been really plentiful. I think at one point I had something like 10 cucumbers in my fridge at once. I tried to make cucumber soup, very cucumber-ful Greek salads, very cucumber-ful Vietnamese noodle bowls… But on many nights, the most efficient preparation of all has been this classic smashed cucumber dish, which you can find at just about any restaurant in Beijing.

Traditionally, this dish is made by actually smashing the cucumber with the side of a cleaver until the cucumber breaks into chunks. This not only helps release a lot of the cucumber juices but also gives the pieces nice ragged edges, all the better for holding the garlic vinegar dressing. After trying a couple different methods, I’ve decided that the easiest for me is actually to smash the cucumber with my heavy stone pestle. I’ve found that keeping the cucumber whole (rather than first cutting it) before you smash it makes for much easier smashing. That way, the cucumber skin is still firmly gripping the surface it’s sitting on, and you also have the benefit of the cucumber still containing most of its juices. After smashing, I roughly chop the cucumber into chunks.

Smashed Cucumbers (pai huang gua 拍黄瓜)
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

If Chinese cucumbers are not available, substitute with crunchy kirby cucumbers. English cucumbers would also work. For a simple, quick version, this dish can just be dressed with just some chopped garlic and a splash of Chinese black vinegar.

2 Chinese cucumbers or 4-5 kirby cucumbers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt

1. Using the side of a cleaver, the handle of a large knife, or a large pestle, smash the whole cucumbers until they begin to crack open and release juices. Chop the cucumbers roughly into bite-size chunks.

2. Toss the cucumber with the remaining ingredients in a bowl until well dressed. Let the cucumbers marinate for 10 minutes to soak in some of the sauce. If desired, chill before serving.