Thursday, September 26, 2013

Chicken Pho Fabulous! Hot and SPICY Vietnamese Soup!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thai_peppers.jpg
By Daniel Risacher (Own work) [GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0
 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

Beautiful Thai Pepper Bush! 
Wouldn't you agree?!

(And, BTW, after just a few days of R+R, my stomach is feeling better and way ready to resume a spicier diet! Yea! And, FYI, believe it or not, in spite of a lot of disbelief in this, a lot of chili peppers really are kinder to your digestion that you might have guessed.)









Chicken Pho Fabulous! Hot and SPICY Vietnamese Soup!

I am not a big fan of commercially pre-made soup base or soup starter. But I do believe in great chicken or vegetable stock and Pacific is a great brand and food producers are getting savvier. So, when I saw this:

www.pacificfoods.com

 "

Organic Chicken Pho Soup Base

"Inspired by the traditional Vietnamese Pho (pronounced ‘fuh’), our delicious Organic Chicken Pho Base makes it simple to prepare authentic Pho at home.

INGREDIENTS


  • Organic Chicken Broth (Water, Organic Chicken, Organic Spices, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Onion Powder)
  • Organic Cane Sugar
  • Sea Salt
  • Organic Lemon Juice
  • Organic Spice Extracts
        • Organic Lime Oil
        • Organic Rosemary Extract

SUITABLE FOR THESE SPECIAL DIETS

  1. Low Fat
  2. Gluten Free
  3. Dairy Free
  4. Corn Free
  5. Soy Free
  6. Wheat Free
  7. Yeast Free                "


in my local grocery store's health food section, I thought, why not give it a whirl. I've rarely had a Vietnamese soup and I'm always up for a healthy culinary adventure!

But, as I cannot help myself, I did go wild with the ingredients. I followed some of the suggested directions and most (Okay, ALL of them except for onions) of the ingredients plus a few of my own and all I can say is:  WOW!!!  WOW!!! WOW!!!!

So here's the Ingredients I used:

1 box (4 cups) of Pacific Chicken Pho soup base.

I bought a 6.75 oz. package of Dynasty Maifun Rice Sticks (thin rice noodles). (Now this is important because some rice noodles taste like cooked cardboard (like the last ones I bought for my husband to use, that had a name I couldn't read in Chinese, and that ruined my husband's triple batch of Thai crab cakes). Others are awesome delicate and beautiful to behold. But I am still getting used to which ingredients work for my recipes and which ones don't, so I like to mention them.)

I cut up a package of three fresh full size boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (I am very fussy about my chicken. It has to be organic, fresh, no hormones or antibiotics, and it has to look good. I split my pieces in three piles: The gristle that I'll cook later with some rice for the dogs that I add, now and then, to their dog food, about 2-21/2 cups of quarter size pieces for the soup, and about 2 cups of medallions that I'll use in another dish later this week. I double bagged the two piles for later and put them away in the fridge.)

6 Tablespoons of hot chili sauce. I use Sriraja Panich Chili Sauce. VERY awesome.
(And note: in my experience,  hot chili sauces can vary widely. A wrong one can overpower or underwhelm or even ruin a good recipe, whereas a great one, like Sriraja Panich, can make your dish beautiful! Sriraja Panich has this lovely way of adding spicy and heat and dimension by blending with smokey undertones and doesn't stand out. I have tested about a dozen different hot chili sauces so far and thrown many of them out. The right ones, like this one, can make a huge difference to the success of so many of my Asian and Thai dishes that I have made a point of knowing where to buy this one locally, how it is shelved -which can be in a different location that other hot chili or "Sriraja" sauces in some stores- or how to get it online.)

3 Tablespoons of  House of Tsang Hoisin Sauce (Note; it has a little wheat in it,  so if that's out for you, I also have in my cupboard a gluten free brand, Sun Luck, but I confess I haven't used it yet and a little bit of wheat doesn't throw me off these days.)

3 to 5 cups of fresh bean sprouts

1-1/2 to 2 organic limes

Fresh Basil

Fresh Cilantro

Black Pepper to Taste (about a teaspoon)

1 Hot Red fresh Thai Chili Pepper with the seeds (cut up into tiny pieces with a scissors, I am getting cleverer, but still wear cooking gloves. Warning: chili peppers are hot!)

1-1/2 - 2 Fresh Red Fresno Peppers (These are about 2 inches long.) Note that on these chili peppers: Don't use the seeds or inside meat. These I cut with a knife into strips and then into pieces. These peppers look like this:


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fresno_pepper_7.jpg
By Nadiatalent (Own work)
[CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons




And here's how I made it:  i.e., The Directions:


1. I boiled about 3 quarts of water while I cut up the chicken. After it came to a full boil, I turned it off and let it sit a few minutes.

2. The rice sticks come in three bundles. I took two or 2/3's of the package and put them in a metal bowl and poured the hot water over them, covered them and let them sit for 10 minutes.

3. I drained the noodles in a colander. Then I cut them up with a scissors and put them back in the metal bowl.

4. I rinsed the beansprouts in the colander and cut those with a scissors and left them there.

5. I scissor cut my Thai chili pepper including the seeds into pieces and knife cut 1-1/2 of my (cleaned of inner skin and seeded) Frenso chili peppers all on the same plate.

6. I poured the whole 4 cup box of Pacific Chicken Pho soup starter into the deep soup pan I boiled my water in. At first I didn't like the smell of the soup so much, but if that happens to you, just wait until the soup is brought to completion.

7.  When the soup starter mix came to a full boil, I threw in the 2-1/2 cups of cut up chicken, covered and turned the heat down to medium low. The chicken was cooked thoroughly in about 2-4 minutes.

7. Then I threw in my rice noodles, about 3 cups of my beansprouts, the chopped peppers and scissor cut a few fresh basil leaves, zested about 1/2 of a lime and squeezed 1-1/2 lime juice into it. I added 3 Tbsp. of Hoisin sauce, 6 Tbsp. of the Chili Sauce and black pepper to taste. Swished it around on simmer for about 1-2 minutes and served with fresh cilantro.

Yummmmm!

Now for the calorie countdown:

If you cook it like I just described above, 1/4th of the whole batch (a pretty big serving amounting to about two cups worth between the broth, the vegetables, the ingredients, and rice noodles) is about 194 calories. (1/8th is abut 97 calories.)

If you add in the extra two cups of beansprouts,  1/4 of the whole batch (a pretty big serving) is about 211 calories. (1/8th is about 106 calories.)

If you cook it using the above recipe, but use only 1/3 the package of rice sticks, then 1/4th of the whole batch is about 136 calories. Again a pretty big serving. (1/8th is about 68 calories.)

If you cook it with the extra two cups of beansprouts and don't use the rice sticks, a 1/4th serving then amounts to 93 calories. (1/8th is about 46 calories.)

If you use the gluten-free hoisin sauce, add 15 calories to 1/4th serving (or 8 calories to 1/8th).

You CAN have your rice and awesome taste and keep your diet too!

I can't wait to test drive this soup on my husband when he comes home tonight!

Bon Appétit!

And Kindest Regards from,

bbffair 

Note: 
This recipe is good for about eight servings, which can be perfect for a guest party first course. However, if you're not going to serve it on the first and second day, I'd recommend going with 1/2 of the above recipe as a better choice, because (due to the delicacy of both the bean sprouts and the rice sticks) it has a shorter refrigerator life than other soups.



Friday, September 20, 2013

Soup To Sooth A Delicate Tummy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIll-3-victoria.jpg


For The Delicate Stomach

Ever have some of those unhappy tummy days or nights?

They can be brought on by stress, too much acidic food or drink, and any number of things that might upset the balance we need to live well and happy lives.

Well, I have been having just so much of this the last month that I've looked into what I might do to sooth my tummy ache.


Here is what I've come up with. I am foregoing many of my favorite (and if you've read my posts, you know I love it spicy!) foods. Not forever, but just until I get my digestion and my stomach (and its distress) back in balance.

I am limiting my intake of acidic foods, spicy foods, dairy, gassy foods, heavy foods, gluten, wheat, sugar, and, (sigh), wine, and, (shaking my head), coffee. Just for a while.  I am upping my intake of probiotics to daily, along with my good fish oil, vitamin D, and other good vitamins and supplements that my health provider likes me to take.

And today, I needed a very digestible chicken-type soup and I came up with two very soothing, actually nicely satisfying soup recipes that can be made together. (I did anyway).  Easy to make, easy to digest, nourishing, and low in calories (so a good diet or detox soup too). (Always yea for that!).

Ingredients To Make Both Soups:

1-1/2 boxes of Pacific Organic Chicken Stock or Broth

2 cups of water

2 stalks of lemon grass

2 Tbsps of fresh grated ginger

1 handful of sliced  shiitake mushrooms

1 fresh zucchini

1 fresh yellow squash

pepper


 Soup #1:   Chicken Ginger Lemongrass Shiitake Soup

Preparation:

Peel the two lemon grass stalks by peeling and tossing out the outer layers to reveal the soft inside layer. Cut the buttery inside pieces from the base or root of the stalk upward into little, thin pieces. When you hear the "crunch," stop cutting. Throw the thin soft cut slices into a Magic Bullet and give it a few chops there. Add a half cup of water, shake it all up and set aside.

Cut the crunchy tops of the two peeled lemongrass stalks into thirds and bend.

Cut about two-three inches off a piece of fresh ginger. Peel by scraping the entire piece with the edge of a spoon until all the skin is removed. Then, over a bowl, grate the piece so that the stringy pieces stay on your side of the grater (that you will throw away) and the soft edible juice and pieces go into the bowl. You should have about 2 Tbsps.

Cut the stalks off the shiitake mushrooms and slice thin.

Cut up the zucchini and the yellow squash. Add pepper. Add about a cup of water and a cup of chicken stock and mix together in blender until it's all a thick liquid. Add a bit more chicken broth if it it resists blending.

Cooking Directions:

Bring one box (4 cups) of Organic Pacific Chicken Stock to a boil

Add in the big lemongrass pieces that you bent. (If you have one, use a Chinese strainer underneath.)  Boil for 4 minutes. Then Remove. (These pieces are too crunchy to be edible but add flavor.)

Add in the cut pieces and juice from your Magic Bullet. Boil another 4 minutes. You can add up to a cup of water and another cup of the chicken stock as it boils down.

Add in the grated ginger, medium boil another four minutes.

Add in the shiitake mushromms and simmer about 4 minutes on low.

Cover and keep on low.



(Time to start the second soup.)


Soup #2:   Soothing Squash Soup

You've already prepped so this will be very simple.

Cooking Directions:

Pour the zucchini and squash mixture into its own sauce pan.

Using a strainer and a soup ladle (that is typically a half cup in size), pour 2 cups (or four ladles) of the first soup into the squash soup.   Return the strained pieces and mushrooms to the first soup.

Mix the broth in. Bring to a boil, then immediately return to simmer and cover. Set the timer for 10-15 minutes.

Voila!


Now you have two extremely soothing soups that are both gentle and nourishing as well as tasty.

The mushroom soup has about 60 calories in the whole batch or 15 calories a cup.

The squash soup has 40-60 calories in the whole batch or about 10-15 calories a cup.

You can sip it or have several bowls of this throughout the day and keep your stomach happy, coated, nourished, and thus also more able to repair a tummy distress.

I added a cup of unsweetened almond milk to my afternoon for a little, gentle protein boost (1 gram) and 30 more calories and felt greatly healed.

Enjoy and here's hoping this makes even the most delicate stomach feel loved.

Kindest Regards,

bbffair