soup

Caribbean Shrimp & Coconut Soup

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Usually, when we think of the combination of shrimp and coconut, Asian food is foremost in our mind. Lately, every publication seems to have a preference for food with an Asian origin or at least an Asian influence. While I am a huge fan of Asian food, I am also very fond of the food from our closest neighbor, the Caribbean. Here now is a shrimp and coconut soup I had first put on the menu while I was working in Negril, Jamaica in the late 80’s. (How time flies when you look back)

Bon Appetit ! Iree, Mon !
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Caribbean Shrimp & Coconut Soup

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Caribbean Shrimp & Coconut Soup

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Preparation :
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to split the coconut, saw a small inision around the outside of the coco, then crack it with the back of a large chefsknife or machete (I live in Florida where it is normal to have a machete in the house) :-)

to split the coconut, saw a small incision around the outside of the coco, then crack it with the back of a large chef’s knife or machete (I live in Florida where it is normal to have a machete in the house) 🙂

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good job

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saute finely diced onions in coco oil

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season shrimp with sea salt and cayenne pepper, dust lightly with corn starch

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add shrimp and garlic paste to pan and saute until shrimp are halfway cooked

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remove shrimp, reserve

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deglaze pan with cocnac (careful, it might ignite)

deglaze pan with dark caribbean rum (careful, it might ignite)

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add white wine

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add coconut water from coco, two small can of coconut milk, one small can of clam juice

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season with sea salt and cayenne pepper, simmer until slightly thickened

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add diced cooked potatoes, corn and shrimp, heat through and remove from heat, dont let it simmer or the shrimp will toughen and get dry

add diced cooked potatoes, corn and shrimp, heat through and remove from heat, don’t let it simmer again or the shrimp will get dry and tough

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spoon shrimp, potato and corn into clean coconut, spoon soup on top and sprinkle with chopped cilantro

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Caribbean Shrimp & Coconut Soup

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my portion 🙂

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Caribbean Shrimp & Coconut Soup

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Caribbean Shrimp & Coconut Soup

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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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I figure, as long as my soup is made of rich beef or chicken stock, has rice noodles,
fish sauce, herbs and other vegetables in it, I can call it a Faux Pho (fake pho) 🙂
Yesterday evening I felt a craving for noodle soup but had no beef or chicken at hand, so I decided to use finely sliced chorizo instead. The chorizo has a great flavor and it fit in great with the other ingredient’s. I also had some leftover clear oxtail soup in the freezer that came in handy. The soup was very light, flavorful and satisfying. Another great, light, flavorful and satisfying meal that does not break the bank, prepared in less then 15 minutes !

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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Preparation:
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add to beef stock star anis, cinnamon bark, chilies , grated ginger and lots of garlic paste, simmer for 10 minutes, check/adjust taste with salt and pepper

add to beef stock star anis, cinnamon bark, chilies , sesame oil, fish sauce, grated ginger and lots of garlic paste, simmer for 10 minutes, check/adjust taste with salt and pepper

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meanwhile, cook rice noodles, drain, rinse with hot water

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add beef broth to noodles, remove and discard solids

add beef broth to noodles, remove and discard cinnamon, chilies and star anis

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add thinly sliced chorizo or other protein of your choice

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add bean sprouts

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add snow peas sprouts

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add finely sliced onion

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add finely sliced chilies

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add scallions and finely sliced chives

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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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FO FO (Faux Pho)

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Finkenwerder Meeresfrüchte Suppe – Seafood Soup Finkenwerder Style

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Finkenwerder is part of Hamburg/Germany, famous (culinary wise) for its seafood restaurants. When I was a young cook back in the seventies, I worked part time in one of them (the name escapes me now) The restaurant was very elegant, expensive and beautiful. I remember many of the specialties we cooked there but the one outstanding dish I remember in particular was the
“Finkenwerder Meeresfruechte Suppe – Seafood Soup Finkenwerder Style”
A creamy soup made of roux, a bit of tomato paste, seafood stock, cognac and lots of cream, chock-full of mussels, shrimp, cockles( herzmuscheln) and scallops. Pure heaven in a bowl for seafood lovers, then and now 🙂
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Saute fine diced onions in butter, add flour to make a blond roux, add a bit of tomato paste, saute another minute, add fish stock and simmer for 15 minutes, add cream and cocnac, simmer another few minutes, season with sea salt and cayenne pepper, add blanched seafodd, carefully stir and remove from heat. to serve, sprinkle with fresh dill leaves

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Finkenwerder Meeresfruechte Suppe – Seafood Soup Finkenwerder Style

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Finkenwerder Meeresfruechte Suppe – Seafood Soup Finkenwerder Style

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Finkenwerder Meeresfruechte Suppe – Seafood Soup Finkenwerder Style

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Finkenwerder Meeresfruechte Suppe – Seafood Soup Finkenwerder Style

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Easy Does it # 9 – Cauliflower/Potato Cream and Pumpkin/Carrot Cream

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Dear Friend’s,
Although most of my followers are culinary professionals, there is also a large segment of followers who are just starting to enjoy cooking on a slightly higher than basic level. I have therefore decided to publish, under the moniker “Easy Does It“, from time to time some very basic recipe variations of dishes which otherwise might seem complicated to some folks. I will break them down to the easiest, most simple instructions, so that those of you who are intimidated by elaborate recipes will be able to prepare these dishes properly, adjusted to your taste and liking, right from the get-go.
Enjoy :-)
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I was supposed to go up to Tampa on the weekend, but my friends had an emergency and had to fly to LA. We also had planned to meet next weekend for another event, so I hope that things work out for them and we will get together next week.
So, I have a lot of time on my hand and will be doing a lot of cooking for the next few day’s.
The first ting I did on Thursday afternoon was making soups for the weekend. I love to eat soup the whole day long, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, anytime. These simple soups are extremely easy to prepare , delicious to eat and light on the wallet. Just freeze what you think you will not consume within two days. You will be happy every time you don’t feel like cooking and just have to defrost and reheat these babies to enjoy a quick snack.

Bon Appetit ! Life is good !

the stove top of a soup fan 🙂

the goodies

Pumpkin & Carrot Cream

Cauliflower & Potato Cream

click HERE for tomato cream

Tomato Cream
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click HERE for tomato cream

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Cauliflower / Potato Cream

caulifower, potatoes, white onions, garlic paste, chicken stock, sea salt, hot sauce, nutmeg, simmer until all veggies are soft

put soup in blender until smooth

put back on heat, bring to a simmer

add heavy cream, check / adjust seasoning

Cauliflower & Potato Cream

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Pumkin / Carrot Cream
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pumpkin, carrot, red onion, chicken stock, grated ginger, garlic paste, sea salt, hot sauce, nutmeg, simmer until all veggies are soft

pumpkin, carrot, red onion, chicken stock, grated ginger, garlic paste, sea salt, hot sauce, garam masala, nutmeg, simmer until all veggies are soft

put soup in blender until smooth

add heavy cream, check / adjust seasoning

Pumpkin & Carrot Cream

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Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣汤

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Spicy lunch (I made it VERY spicy), washed down with lemon ice tea while
watching “The Great Gatsby”.
Perfect Saturday so far 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Saute shrimp, dried shrimp, squid, garlic paste and grated ginger in peanut oil for one minute. Add chicken stock, salt, chili sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a simmer, add sliced water chestnuts, soaked and cooked wood ears and small amount of cornstarch slurry. Add whisked eggs, stir slowly in one direction only. As soon as eggs have set into long, thin strands, remove soup from fire. Check/adjust seasoning. Add cubed tofu. To serve, sprinkle with sliced scallions and fried onion julienne.
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Szechuan Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣汤

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog,
please be so kind and click on the video on the bottom of this page. Thank you 🙂
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Easy Does It # 6 – Express Ramen

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Dear Friend’s
Although most of my followers are culinary professionals, there is also a large segment of followers who are just starting to enjoy cooking on a slightly higher than basic level. I have therefore decided to publish, under the moniker “Easy Does It“, from time to time some very basic recipe variations of dishes which otherwise might seem complicated to some folks. I will break them down to the easiest, most simple instructions, so that those of you who are intimidated by elaborate recipes will be able to prepare these dishes properly, adjusted to your taste and liking, right from the get-go.
Enjoy :-)
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In the foodie world everybody act’s as if ramen has been invented yesterday morning. In reality, it has been around forever, being a very special and revered dish in it’s original form. However, since the instant variety has been invented, it has been the stable of millions of students and other young folks around the world. It is simple to prepare, costs only pennies and is filling and tasty.
I have made many different types of ramen soups over the past few decades, starting out with the instant form as a young kid. Gradually I started adding “stuff” to my soups, roast pork, chicken, beef, any kind of seafood, herbs, vegetables, cooked eggs, whisked eggs, poached eggs, you name it, it has found its way into my ramen. But even when I make it from scratch, I still use store bought ramen noodles. Some Asian specialty shops have good quality ramen, so if you can, splurge a little on quality. In a pinch, angel hair pasta cooked al dente, with a bit of baking soda added to the water, is a reasonable fine substitute.
However, today I want to show you how to make a simple ramen from the instant variety. Discard the seasoning packages that comes in the packs. Use a good home made pork stock (substitute with chicken stock if you prefer), season with miso, grated ginger, garlic paste, sea salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and sake.

Bon Appetit ! どうぞめしあがれ (Douzo Meshiagare)
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to serve, add egg yolk to the soup (substitute with cooked egg if you prefer)

Express Ramen

: cook instant ramen noodles in boiling salt water for one minute, strain, coat with sesame oil

: heat chicken broth to a simmer, add noodles, garlic paste, miso, soy sauce, sake, sea salt and grated ginger

: add bok choy and cooked shrimp let everything heat through without simmering, check/adjust seasoning

: to serve, add egg yolk to the soup (substitute with cooked egg if you prefer)

: Express Ramen

: Express Ramen

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Shrimp & Chili Broth With Rice Bucatini, Broccolini, Shrimp And Wood Ear Mushroom

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Today’s late breakfast consisted of some of my favorite ingredients:
Bucatini, shrimp, fried onions, broccolini and wood ear’s.
Used in one single dish made for a superior concoction I could eat any time of the day, seven day’s a week 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Shrimp & Chili Broth With Rice Bucatini, Broccolini, Shrimp And Wood Ear Mushroom

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: shrimp stock made from shells, heads, garlic paste, scallions, ginger, sea salt and scotch bonnet hot sauce

: add shrimp,cooked bucatini, blanched broccolini, blanched wood ears and roasted chilis to simmering broth

: to serve, sprinkle with fried onions and accompany with lime wedges

: Shrimp & Chili Broth With Rice Bucatini, Broccolini, Shrimp And Wood Ear Mushroom

: Shrimp & Chili Broth With Rice Bucatini, Broccolini, Shrimp And Wood Ear Mushroom

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog, please be so kind and click on the video on the bottom of this page.
(You don’t have to watch it, just click once) Thank you 🙂
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Steer Neck Soup

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This was the perfect dinner for yesterday’s cold evening. First a big bowl of this soup, then outside on the terrace by the lake for a night-cup, wrapped in two blankets and a few glasses of hot “Glühwein mit Schuss” (mulled wine with rum). Great evening 🙂

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !

Note : If you can not procure steer neck, substitute beef or veal neck. The taste will be slightly less “beefy”

Steer Neck Soup With Egg And Horseradish

: slowly simmer sliced steer neck in salted water for one hour

: after one hour, add scallions, a small amount of tomato paste, star anis, lime juice, garlic paste and grated ginger

: simmer until meat is tender, about two hours more, remove scallions, add small potatoes

: cook until potatoes are tender, add tomatoes, red peppers, bok choy and white cabbage

: bring to a simmer again, remove from heat, add sriracha, salt and maggi seasoning to taste

: to serve, sprinkle with chopped cilantro

: Steer Neck Soup

: for individual portions, add a fresh egg yolk

: top meat with horseradish

: Steer Neck Soup With Egg And Horseradish

: Steer Neck Soup With Egg And Horseradish

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Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup – Leftover’s Made Into A Feast

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Whenever I steam meats, seafood or vegetables, I never discard the broth but transform it into a delicious soup or sauce.
When I steamed a duck for “Crispy Fried Duck With Dirty Rice Sticks” a few weeks back, I strained the stock and saved the trimmings from the duck to use for this great soup on the following day.
Below is the result:
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Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup

simmer seasoned duck stock with whole chilies for 15 minutes. Add sesame oil. Check/adjust seasoning. Cover glass vermicelli in boiling ware, let steep for 10 minutes, strain

simmer seasoned duck stock with whole chilies for 15 minutes. Add sesame oil. Check/adjust seasoning. Cover glass vermicelli in boiling water, let steep for 10 minutes, strain

add chopped cabbage, simmer for two minutes

add vermicelli, diced leftover duck, cilantro and diced red peppers to soup. Bring back to a simmer, remove from heat at once. To serve, sprinkle with more cilantro

Duck & Glass Vermicelli Soup

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Chicken Noodle Soup & Egg

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This is a remnant from a time when a chicken noodle soup was a remedy for just about anything – a bit of a cold, a bit of a sad day, a bit of exhaustion, not much Mom couldn’t fix with a bowl of chicken noodle soup with egg 🙂
To this day, it is still a dish which, in most of it’s infinite incarnations, will make me feel better, richer, healthier and just all around more alive. Here is one of my many different variations, this one with bone-in chicken, buccatini rice noodles, peppers, shiitake mushrooms, soft boiled eggs and lots of chopped cilantro, all swimming in a freshly made, extra strong chicken soup.

Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !
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Chicken Noodle Soup & Egg

rice buccatini underneath all the other goodies

Chicken Noodle Soup & Egg

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Dear Friend’s, to help support this blog, please be so kind and click on the video on the bottom of this page.
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