Soups / Stews

Today´s Lunch at “Chez Bella” – “Seafood Soup With Mee Noodles”

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(Five Minutes Preparation, Five Hundred Minutes Satisfaction) 🙂
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Some leftover chicken stock with a bottle of clam juice (50/50 ratio), seasoned to taste with oyster sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili oil, ginger/garlic paste, sliced scallions and chilies, then added a pack of frozen seafood and a couple packs of Mee noodles, some Shaoxing wine, and pronto! – a great lunch in a few short minutes, enjoyed greatly by both Bella and myself.
Just good food, without the drama 🙂 Life is Good !
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Bon Appetit ! Stay healthy ! 🙂
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Why “Chez Bella” ??? Because……….click here.
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Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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If you think that the salted cucumber addition for this soup are just a fru-fru gimmick to add some green color to the picture, think again 🙂
These pickled cucumbers truly add an surprising element of sophistication to an otherwise simple, everyday soup.
BTW, I also like to eat pickled cucumbers as a snack, either plain-salted, as shown here, or prepared a bit more elaborate,
such as in my “Chinese pickled cucumbers recipe” (涼拌黃瓜 liáng bàn huáng guā recipe)

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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: cut 1 ea cucumber lenghtwise in half, then cut across into 1/3 inch slices, add 1 tblsp kosher salt, mix well, marinate for 1/2 hour, discard the juice

: cut 2 lb carrots and 2 ea medium size onions into pieces

: add 2 qt chicken or veggies stock

: season with 1/2 tblsp of ginger/garlic paste, 1 tblsp kosher salt, 2 tblsp honey, sriracha to taste, simmer until carrots and onions are soft, (at this point there should be about 1 qt liquid left, blend until smooth

: add 8 oz coconut milk

: simmer for 10 minutes ; if the coconut milk has curdled, blend again until smooth, remove from heat

: check/adjust seasoning, serves 2 main course or 6 appetizers

: Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

: Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

: Bombay Carrot, Coconut & Ginger Soup With Salted Cucumbers

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Red Curry/Coconut Ramen With Nappa Cabbage

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During the past view years, with thousands upon thousands of books, articles movies, documentaries and everybody and his/her dog writing about Ramen – the best, the most original, the most exotic, the cheapest, the most expensive, the most complicated, the simplest, the craziest, and what not else about Ramen, the latest craze we are to believe in and are bombarded with is always the final, definitive, all previous wisdom erasing, Fad.
Some, (most?) folks have forgotten what Ramen, or comfort food in general, is all about – when it feels just right what your mom in her kitchen, or the waiter in a five-star restaurant, or the street cook from his cart, sets in front of you and you happily enjoy every aspect of the dish to it´s fullest – the taste, the texture, the aromas, the ingredients, the colors, the surroundings, and last but not least, the company.
Ramen does not really need (deserve ???) all this silly nonsense and mystique which some folks want to make us believe is essential and exists in some mysterious stockpot in some obscure location, prepared by a “Master Artist”, who dedicated his/her life to one particular dish.
Dear God, pls spare me from any more of this pretentious BS !
Like any other thing in the Universe, sometimes there are exceptions to the rules, but……….. 🙂
Just like any other bowl of soup, or any other dish out there, there are awful ones, mediocre ones, average ones, good ones, superb ones and occasionally, a sublime one, which is usually the result of somebody who brings decent ingredients, at least a bit of knowledge, and A LOT OF LOVE to the stove. No mystery, no art, no alchemy.
Dear people, Ramen it is just a bowl of noodle soup !!!!! No matter how simple or complicated – it’s just a bowl of noodle soup !!!!!
And like ALL other food, it should taste great, should not cost an arm and a leg for something simple and basic, and most of all, it should leave you full, satisfied and happy 😉
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I know that I am not the only one who is tired of the loudmouths in our industry, most of whom have nothing else to offer than flash, glitter, and show, never mind the taste and satisfaction of truly wonderful food.
So then, this, like most of my posts, is about comfort food, good food, easy to prepare food, and, last but not least, affordable food. 🙂
I hope, in this spirit at least, ChefsOpinion serves you well 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Red Curry/Coconut Ramen With Nappa Cabbage

more goodness…….. 🙂

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: strain 1 qt of strong stock of your choice (chicken/beef/veggies, bring to a simmer

: add 1/2 qt coconut milk

: add 2 tblsp chili paste

: let simmer for 2 minutes

: add 4 pck dried ramen noodles or the equivalent of fresh ramen, cook according to packaging, add 1 tsp garlic/ginger paste and some whole pickled chilies, add 6 ea med size napa cabbage leaves and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, remove from heat, check/adjust seasoning

: Red Curry/Coconut Ramen With Nappa Cabbage

: Red Curry/Coconut Ramen With Nappa Cabbage

: Red Curry/Coconut Ramen With Nappa Cabbage

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Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

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A stew is one of these typical, beloved, easy to prepare dishes that have almost disappeared from fine restaurant menus and, sadly, from most household dining tables (or kitchen tables).
Many home cooks shy away from it because of the extended cooking time. But, once you realize that the actual prep time is usually short and easy, things look a lot more simple. After all, as long as you are at home, you can do whatever you want/need to do around the house as long as you check on your stew once in a while. The reward is a meal chock-full of flavor and debt, hardly achieved with any other cooking method (this one being “Braising.” )
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While this one looks like a typical goulash, the seasoning changes it into a very different animal.
In my own opinion, not better or worse, just different. I eat stews and goulash regularly, so I love to change the ingredients/seasoning often, to avoid monotony in my nutrition.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: 20 oz indersuppen fleisch (boiling beef), 20 oz sliced onion

: saute onion in 2 tblsp sunflower oil

: cover onions, steam until broken down, about 15 minutes

: cut the beef into 1 ” cubes

: add to the onions

: cover, braise until most liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes

: add 2 tblsp tomato paste, saute until lightly caramelized

: 7 tblsp sweet Hungarian paprika, 4 ea dried red chillies, 2 tblsp cracked szechuan pepper, 2 tblsp oyster sauce, 2 tblsp finely diced lemongrass, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp thyme, cayenne pepper and kosher salt to taste

: add to the meat

: add 2 qt stock (best for this dish is beef stock, but chicken stock or veggy stock will do)

: simmer until meat is almost tender and stock thickened, about 1 1/1 to 2 hours, depending on the meat, add 1 cup sliced or diced raw carrots

: when the carrots are tender, add 1 cup cooked, diced potatoes, 1/2 cup diced green peppers

: check/adjust seasoning

: almost………… 🙂

: Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

: Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

: Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

: Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

: Beef Goulash & Bread Dumplings

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Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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If you have followed ChefsOpinion for a while, you might be aware of my passion for soups, especially for chicken noodle soup, prepared any-which-way.
Without a doubt, the soup featured on this page is by far the best chicken noodle soup I have ever tasted.
The combination and the amount used of the special chicken and all the veggies, as well as the seasoning/aromatics and the six hours of cooking resulted in a heavenly broth, for which only the wide rice noodles and garden-fresh cilantro was needed to transform these simple ingredients into a wonderful, immensely satisfying culinary delight. 🙂
( The plate prepared for the original photo shoot already was all that – but then, the plate I prepared later on with all the “secondary cuts” (neck, wings and dark meat), which was originally not intended to be included in this post, was even better and “hit it out of the park” ) 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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P.S.
To prepare the best tasting chicken broth, one must use “Suppen Huhn” (Boiling Fowl, which needs to simmer between three to six hours to be sufficiently tender for the meat to be enjoyed.
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Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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And later on, the second helping looked like this :
(Originally, these photos were not intended to be published 🙂
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Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: Chop Stick Holder

: The Good Stuff…..

: 1 ea 3 lbs “suppenhuhn”, 2 lbs chicken backs, 3 lbs “suppengemüse”

: simmer in 10 qt lightly salted water (the stock will reduce to about 2-3 qt, so take it very easy with the salt at this time)

: after 2 hours, the chicken is still extremely tough

: at this point, add 8 ea star anis, 3 ea cinnamon sticks, 2 tblsp szechuan pepper, 1 tblsp ginger/garlic paste, 1 tblsp brown sugar and 21 tblsp lemon juice and a inch of cayenne pepper

: simmer until the chicken is tender (between 3 and 4 hours more)

: after 6 hours of slowly simmering

: remove the chicken, cover with a damp clothe to avoid discoloring of the meat

: strain the soup, discard the solids (there should be 2 qt soup at this point, if not, adjust bey reducing or adding liquid), recipe makes 2 generous main courses or 6 appetizers

: remove the fat to the amount (or none) you prefer, check/adjust the seasoning

: liquid gold

: cover the rice noodles with very hot water, let them steep according to the instruction on the packeging

: remove the meat from the bones, separately remove the skin, wings and neck optional) keep the white and dark meat separate (optional)

: white meat only

: white meat, dark meat, neck, wings, skin

: add rice noodles to a bowl,

: top with white meat

: top with broth, sprinkle generously with cilantro

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

: Not Your Mama´s Chicken/Noodle Soup – “Chicken Pho” (Phở Gà)

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End Of Summer Celebration – “Creamy Tomato & Bell Pepper Soup”

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Now that summer is almost over in Germany, I took the opportunity to buy some of the last garden-grown tomatoes and bell peppers from my neighbor down the road. (In a normal year, September provides the last locally grown tomatoes, while the season for bell peppers ends during October/November. As much as possible, I like to buy food that has been produced locally. My neighbor produces eggs, chicken, and lamb, as well as potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum, apples, blackberries, mirabelles, and strawberries.
Even the local supermarkets sell a lot of locally grown food-stuff, which makes one feel good about giving a little help to the local farmers. 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good
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End Of Summer Celebration – “Creamy Tomato & Bell Pepper Soup”

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4 lbs tomatoes, 1.5 lbs red peppers

add 2 ea medium size onions, cut int chunks

add kosher salt, sriracha, sugar and garlic paste to taste

add 1 gallon chicken- or veggie – broth,, simmer until liquid has reduced to 2 quarts

with a stand-mixer or hand-mixer blend all until very smooth, last minute ad 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

add 2 cup heavy cream, check/adjust flavor

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Beef & Pork Stew with Sausages, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

MooDonna

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I LOVE soups and stew of any kind, but served from a pretty serving dish like this will bring even the most simple soup or stew to a higher level 🙂
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Click here to read about ARROGANCE & NARCISSISM OF THE HIGHEST ORDER ? on ChefsOpinion

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Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: simmer 5 lbs bone-in pork (use the part you prefer for soup), 2 lbs boneless beef (use the part you prefer for soup) in 5 qt of water, lightly seasoned to taste with kosher salt, sriracha, grated garlic and ginger, until the meat is tender but not falling apart; (check the meat individually for doneness), during the simmering, remove the foam from the top frequently to ensure a clean/clear broth

: after you remove the meat from the soup, there should be 3 qt of stock left – if not, adjust accordingly

: remove the bones from the meat, cover with kitchen paper so the top does not dry out while cooling down before cutting into bite-size pieces, cut 6 ea sausages of your choice into bite size pieces (here I used German bratwurst)

: 1 ea small white cabbage, 2 ea onion, 2 ea tomatoes, 1 ea red and yellow peppers, 1 lb carrots

: 1,5 lbs cooked potatoes

: add the carrots and onions to the soup, simmer until the carrots are soft

: add the rest of the veggies and the potatoes

: add the the meat, sausages and 1/2 cup chopped parsley, cilantro or chives (or a combination there-off)

: bring to a simmer, remove from heat, check/adjust the seasoning, heat 10 oz of pasta of your choice (here, I used spätzle); serves six main courses

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: Beef & Pork Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Spätzle and Veggies

: MooDonna

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MooDonna

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Chicken And Udon In Coconut/Chili Soup

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While this soup might seem a bit in the style of Thai food, it actually isn´t, but rather, it is a combination of things I love to be in my food – juicy simmered or roasted chicken, coconut/chicken broth, ginger, garlic, Ichimi togarashi, furikake, cilantro, Thai sweet chili sauce, and udon noodles, items you can usually find at all times in my fridge and in my cup board.
Not Thai at all, but rather a fusion of food/ingredients from different countries/cultures, combined to form their own, delicious bond, without being too complicated to prepare with ease in a short time, or being too heavy on the wallet. 🙂
In fact, if you already have leftover cooked (or roasted) chicken in your fridge, the whole process of assembling and finishing this dish will not take more than a few minutes 🙂
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Pls note :
Adjust the quantities and use of all the ingredients according to your own moods, taste buds and their availability. 🙂

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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken And Udon In Coconut/Chili Soup

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: for one single main course portion of soup, blanch 1 ea chicken leg in salted water, discard water, cover the leg with chicken stock, season with kosher salt, grated ginger, grated garlic, Ichimi togarashi and furikake to taste, simmer

: about halfway through the cooking process (20 to 30 minutes), add 1 ea can of coconut milk and 2 tblsp sweet Thai chili sauce to the soup

: getting there……….

: simmer until the chicken is tender, remove the chicken, let cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard the bones; at this point, if you want the soup to be creamy and smooth, blend the soup with a blender to uncurl the coconut milk (optional, see picture of soup left as is)

: add one portion (depending on your appetite and if the soup is an appetizer or main course) udon noodles and 1/2 of the chicken to the soup, heat through,, check/adjust seasoning, add 1/4 cup finely sliced scallions 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, and finely sliced chilies to taste; garnish with chili threads

: Chicken And Udon In Coconut/Chili Soup

: add the rest of the shredded chicken to a serving bowl

: top with the noodles from the soup, cover with the rest of the soup,sprinkle with more scallions, chilies and chili threads

: Chicken And Udon In Coconut/Chili Soup

: Chicken And Udon In Coconut/Chili Soup

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Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

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This soup contains four of my most beloved food-ingredients :
Strong, flavorful Beef Broth, Maultaschen (Swabian Ravioli), Schupfnudeln (Swabian Gnocchi), Beef Shank and Grape Tomatoes, ready to burst from the heat.Each of these ingredients can stand at it´s own, but together, they are culinary bliss at it´s best.
Serve the soup with the whole shank slice, bone-in (with the bone marrow), or, for convenience, remove the meat from the bone and cut into bit-size pieces, then remove the marrow from the bone and divide it between the soup plates, top with the rest of the ingredients and the broth.
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

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Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

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Preparation :
To read instructions, hover over pictures
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: blanch 2 ea thick beef shank slices (think Osso Bucco), drain and rinse, put into a large pott with 3 qt of water, season with 2 ea star anis, 1 tblsp garlic paste, 2 tblsp kosher salt, 1 tsp grated ginger and cayenne pepper to taste, simmer until meat is tender but NOT falling apart (This should take about 2 – 3 hours ) (at this point, there should be about 1 qt broth remaining, if not, adjust

: cut 2 cup onions, 2 cup carrots, 1/2 cup scallions and 1 cup Italian parsley

: clean/wash 20 ea grape tomatoes, remove vine

: cook at last two types of pasta of your choice, drain, reserve

: when the meat is tender, remove from broth, keep meat warm /moist under a dry kitchen towel

: add the carrots and onions to the broth, simmer until tender but NOT mushy

: add the cooked pasta and the grape tomatoes and scallions

: remove from heat, check/adjust seasoning

: place the beef on the bottom of a serving bowl, top with the soup, pasta and veggies, serves 2 when served as a main course, when removed from bone and cut, makes 4 generous appetizer portions

: Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

: Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

: Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

: Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

: Beef Shank Soup With Pasta & Ravioli (Rindersuppe Mit Schupfnudeln & Maultaschen)

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Beef Udon (Niku Udon) 肉うどん

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Very few beautiful, heart and belly-warming dishes are as easy to prepare as these beef-noodles. At times I have eaten the noodles just with broth, at other times I have eaten the meat just by itself or over steamed rice. Any way I choose, I enjoy each one of them, but of course, the whole schamuckas as shown on this page is the very best of them. 🙂
I especially love the simplicity of the preparation. Hot broth, udon noodles and caramelized beef and caramelized scallions and voilà – culinary heaven has been reached ! 🙂
(In Japan, one usually adds a few slices of fish cake ( Narutomaki ), but I can do without that……..
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Bon Appétit ! Life is Good !
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Beef Udon (Niku Udon) 肉うどん

Caramelized Beef only

Udon in Broth only

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Preparation :
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: lightly freeze (to be able to easily cut into very thin slices) 1 lb of well-trimmed tender beef (strip or flap works great)

: good stuff……….

: marinade the beef for 4 hours with 2 tblsp mirin, 1 tbls soy sauce and 2 tblsp sugar

: meanwhile, heat 4 cups of dashi with 1 tblsp soy sauce, 1 tblsp sugar and 2 tblsp mirin, bring to a simmer, remove from heat

: saute 2 stalks of on the bias cut scallions in 1 tblsp peanut oil until starting to caramelize

: add the beef

: saute over very high heat until the liquid has evaporated

: when the meat is nicely browned, remove from heat

: add the fresh-cooked udon noodles to the broth, check / adjust seasoning, – if neccessary, add Shichimi tougarashi for some extra heat

: add the udon with the broth to a deep serving dish, top with the beef, sprinkle with finely sliced scallions ; makes two main courses or six appetizers