Hot & Sour Soup

Whenever I return from a trip, all I want is a hot bowl of soup. As you may know from following my Instagram account, I love all types of soup. One that I started making more regularly recently is the Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. It’s so flavorful. There’s something about the sourness, saltiness, and the spice that just hits the spot. I love the crunchy textures of the bamboo and water chestnuts as well as the softness of the tofu and egg ribbons. So yummy. It tastes so much better when you make it at home yourself. Restaurants sometimes overdo it on the cornstarch, soy sauce, or spice. I don’t use cornstarch in my recipe at all because I generally prefer thin, brothier soups. You may add cornstarch if you like a thicker texture. If you’re a soup lover, try my recipe!

Hot and Sour Soup (serves 4-5)

Ingredients:

·       32 oz low sodium chicken broth

·      1 quart & 1 cup of water

·       15 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrate in bowl of hot water for 30 minutes, thinly sliced

·       1 small 8 oz can of bamboo shoots

·       6 oz tofu, cubed

·       3 eggs, lightly whisked

·       1 small can of water chestnuts, sliced (optional)

·       1 clove of garlic, mashed

·       1 nubbin of ginger

·       4½ tbsp soy sauce

·       6 tbsp vinegar

·       ½ - 1 tsp chili flakes

·       2 tsp sesame oil 

·       ½ tsp black pepper

·       ½-¾ tsp salt

·      ¾ cup of scallions diced

Directions: Bring the broth with water to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes with ginger and garlic. Add tofu, bamboo, rehydrated sliced shiitake mushrooms, and water chestnuts. If there is not enough broth, add more water. Cook for 15 minutes. Season the soup with soy sauce, vinegar, chili flakes, sesame oil, black pepper, and salt. Cook for another 15 minutes. Create egg ribbons by slowly pouring in the whisked eggs into the pot. Stir the eggs in the pot of soup with a fork or chopstick. Toss in half of the scallions and then continue to cook for a couple more minutes. Top with additional fresh scallions when serving.

Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce

When it comes to pasta, I love tomato sauce and l love my pasta smothered in it. I often make bolognese but it’s definitely very time consuming and can take up to 3 hours to make including prep time. I also like to make a shrimp or clam tomato sauce with my pasta because it’s lighter and doesn’t take as long to cook. But sometimes I don’t have seafood readily available on hand. A great option for a simple pasta sauce is arrabbiata sauce, which is basically a spicy marinara. It’s perfect for those nights when you don’t have a lot of time because it doesn’t require many ingredients. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry. It’s easy to make and so delicious! And you can freeze your leftovers!

Pasta with Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:

• Linguine-fini or any pasta of your choice

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 6 cloves garlic, 4 diced and 2 smashed

• 2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes

• 16 basil leaves, torn

• 1 tsp oregano

• ½ - 1½ tsp red chili pepper flakes, more or less, depending on your spice level (½ tsp=a little spicy, 1 tsp=spicy, 1.5 tsp=very spicy)

• 5 sprigs of thyme

• 2-2½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp sugar

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup of water

• burrata or parmesan cheese upon serving (optional)

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a 3 quart pot over medium heat. Brown onions. Throw in the garlic and lightly toast.  Pour in canned tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, red chili pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and fresh basil. If your tomatoes are whole, you can break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low. Sauce will thicken and stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir sporadically breaking up the tomatoes and scraping the bottom.

Add 1 cup of water and stir thoroughly. Cook for another 30 minutes-1 hour on medium-low heat. Continue to stir sauce and break up the tomatoes with your wooden spoon.

Lastly, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over your finished sauce and stir.

Toss your pasta in the sauce. Serve with fresh basil and a scoop of burrata cheese or grated parmesan. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. I prefer burrata because it helps calm down the spice. Its soft, rich and cool texture is also a nice contrast to the hot and spicy dish. If you choose burrata, drizzle a little bit of EVOO on top. Skip the cheese all together and make this dish vegan. Substitute pasta for zucchini noodles (or use gluten-free pasta) and make this dish gluten free. Or do both, and make this dish vegan AND gluten-free!

When I cook for just me, I like to toss an individual portion of linguine-fini in an individual portion of the sauce in a separate pan, over the stove top. I also prefer my pasta al dente so I undercook my pasta slightly knowing that it will cook a little bit more when I mix it in with the sauce in the pan. Then I freeze the rest of the sauce in small portions to have later, either with pasta or to make shakshouka with for breakfast. But if you are planning on making this dish for a few guests, you can transfer all of your pasta directly into the pot of sauce and toss all together to eat immediately. Another option is to use some of the arrabbiata sauce as the base of another sauce. Just recently, I took out a small portion of the sauce from the freezer and cooked it with wine and butter and added pasta and it was delicious!

'Tis the Season for DIY Holiday Gift Baskets

This past weekend, I attended a friend’s outdoor winter wedding cocktail party. For a gift, I wanted to do something that was more personal than a purchase from her registry. Since the bride loves food and cooking, I thought of making her a few homemade specialty sauces and toppings. I included a jar of fried garlic because it’s an essential Cambodian ingredient that would give the gift an extra personal touch. Then I made harissa for the first time ever. I had introduced my friend to this Moroccan chili paste over a year ago and I remembered she really liked it. I had a little leftover for myself and loved my creation! I will definitely be making more of this for myself in the future. It’s a great topping on meats, fish, shrimp, veggies, eggs—basically everything! I also tried making tomato confit after being inspired by a random Instagram post. This was probably my favorite new recipe to make! You can serve it over pasta or on top of a crostini (maybe paired with herbed goat cheese), as well as over meats and veggies. I felt like the basket needed one more homemade specialty item, so I decided to make olive tapenade at the last minute after watching a character on Black Mirror make it during an episode. It’s amazing where you can randomly find inspiration!

For the finishing touch to my gift basket, I included a bottle of bubbles and a scented candle, and then sprinkled in pieces of chocolate. I got the basket from World Market. The gift basket kit included raffia stuffing, clear plastic wrap, and a gift tag. I lined the basket with additional colored tissue paper and then added crumbled up packaging paper underneath the raffia stuffing to add more cushion to prop up the gifts.

This was such a fun gift to make! All the toppings/sauces were also very simple to create. I had my own labels printed at Vistaprint and bought jars from The Container Store. You can make your basket as fancy or as simple as you want. Here are some more ideas for homemade specialty items: hummus, eggplant or roasted red pepper dip, pesto, chimichurri sauce, pickles, jam, freshly ground chili powder, fig spread, or salsa. I tend to prefer savory over sweet but I really like the idea of a fig spread with goat cheese and honey on a cracker. In addition to your homemade specialty items, you can include wine, candles, a fancy giant matchbox, chocolate, crackers, truffle salt, truffle oil, or salami. I hope my post has inspired you. Happy Gift Basket Making!

Fire-Roasted Salsa

I am obsessed with salsa.  I love it on everything—Mexican food, eggs, salad, grilled meats.  I love loading tortilla chips with so much salsa that bits of it fall off my chip before it even makes its way to my mouth!  I could just eat an entire bowl of salsa!  

I spent last night making a batch of homemade salsa because it was just one of those nights when I was craving chips and salsa for dinner.  Homemade salsa is so much better than the pre-made stuff you can get at the store.  My recipe below is pretty easy.  You can make a batch to eat immediately or jar it and save it for later in the fridge.  Warning: wash your hands thoroughly after touching the jalapeno peppers!  I accidentally touched my mouth afterwards and my lips burned for awhile!

Fire-Roasted Salsa - Mild (makes about 30oz)

Ingredients:

·      6 medium size tomatoes (6 Roma tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine are okay too), sliced into chunks

·      2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in half length-wise, deseeded and sliced

·      ½ sweet yellow onion, cut into chunks

·      1 cup of cilantro, coarsely chopped

·      3 garlic cloves, cut in half

·      1 lime (approx. 2-2.5 tbsp juice)

·      2 tsp salt

·      1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

·      ½ tsp chili powder (more if you prefer spicier)

Directions:

1.)  Preheat oven for 15 minutes.  Set on broil.

2.) Cut Roma tomatoes in half length-wise, lay face up on a baking sheet. Add de-stemmed and deseeded jalapeno peppers, onion chunks, and garlic onto the same baking sheet. Broil for about 30 minutes. You may need to remove the garlic sooner to avoid burning. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. 

3.)  In a food processor, blend the tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, onion, cilantro, and garlic thoroughly.

4.)  Pour the mixture into a bowl. Squeeze all of the juice from 1 lime into the bowl. Add salt, black pepper, and chili powder.  Stir thoroughly. Eat immediately or jar the salsa (refrigerate or freeze) to save for later!