Japanese cellophane noodle soup (harusame)

We returned home, but haven't gone food shopping yet. Relying on pantry ingredients, we tried this recipe: https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-glass-noodle-soup/ Our modifications: first, we made 1.5x the recipe (to yield 6 cups broth). This means: 3 eggs, 3 scallions, 3 Tbsp dried wakame, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and 6 cups liquid (4 cups no salt chicken… Continue reading Japanese cellophane noodle soup (harusame)

Korean curry by Maangchi

I grew up eating S&B Japanese curry, but in the past year I learned about Ottogi Korean curry, which is a cut above. We made this recipe while on vacation: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/curry-rice In this recipe, Maangchi calls for 100 g of Korean curry powder, which is the standard packet size for Ottogi curry powder. We used… Continue reading Korean curry by Maangchi

Ina Garten’s lentil soup

We craved homemade lentil soup, and I remembered Ina Garten's recipe from many years ago. Unlike in the past, I followed the recipe almost exactly: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lentil-vegetable-soup-recipe-1948822. We slightly reduced the salt to 2 tsp and used 1 3/4 Tbsp barrel-aged red wine vinegar. This is a delicious and comforting plant-forward soup. (Mar. 2024)

Mexican chicken tortilla soup (sopa Azteca)

When I was menu planning for the week, my husband requested we make chicken tortilla soup. We tried this recipe by Chef Rick Bayless: https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/tortilla-soup/ This soup is an ingenious and hearty way to use leftover cooked chicken and tortillas. Our modifications: first, we couldn't find dried pasillo chiles, so we used a total of… Continue reading Mexican chicken tortilla soup (sopa Azteca)

Korean spicy braised catfish with daikon radish

We found a beautiful, juicy daikon radish this weekend, and I couldn't stop thinking about this braised fish dish: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/eundaegu-jorim Our modifications: first, we couldn't find black cod, so we got 1 1/4 lb fresh catfish filet. Second, we reduced the heat a little: (1) one red Korean finger pepper (down from two); and (2)… Continue reading Korean spicy braised catfish with daikon radish

Indian mung bean dal (moong dal)

We made this recipe as a side dish: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/moong-dal-recipe/ We used a pressure cooker, and we followed the blogger's tip about adding a bit (1/2 tsp) of red lentil to the 1/2 cup of moong dal to reduce stickiness. We found the instructions confusing and imprecise (for ex, it is vague about the amount and… Continue reading Indian mung bean dal (moong dal)

15-bean Cajun stew with andouille sausage

We tried this recipe: https://hurstbeans.com/recipes/slow-cooker-cajun-15-bean-soup We do not have a slow cooker, so we made some modifications: first, following the bean prep instructions here (https://hurstbeans.com/recipes/15-bean-soup-with-smoked-sausage-swp) and we soaked the 20 oz Hurst's dried beans overnight in 8 cups of water in the fridge (we set the Cajun seasoning packet aside). Second, the next day, we… Continue reading 15-bean Cajun stew with andouille sausage

Split pea soup with smoked turkey (+ potato), version 2

Split pea soup always reminds me of my childhood, when one of my mom's good friends made the soup from scratch (and it took hours). We had a craving for an old fashioned split pea soup, but we were searching for one that didn't use ham or a ham bone. We tried this recipe, which… Continue reading Split pea soup with smoked turkey (+ potato), version 2