Sunday Soup #15: Easy Hot and Sour Soup

This recipe came from: http://rasamalaysia.com/hot-and-sour-soup/2/

*Pic 1 - Picture from http://rasamalaysia.com/hot-and-sour-soup/2/

My Variations from Recipe as Written: Quite a few variations from exactly how the recipe was written this time, owing primarily to what ingredients were available at the store. However, most of the changes likely had minimal impact on the taste.  I doubled the recipe. I used a couple ounces more chicken stock than called for. I used "extra firm" tofu instead of "soft." I used baby portbello mushrooms instead of the white button variety. The recipe gave several options for vinegar; I used rice vinegar. And, I used four (4)  tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, instead of the three (3) tbsp of regular and one (1) tsp of "dark" soy sauce the recipe called for. Lastly, I added some green onions for color (and because I love green onion in my Asian soups).

General Thoughts: I am happy to say that my son, Hunter, cooked this soup with me tonight! He is the other person in my house that I can usually count on really liking Asian soups, and we were both pretty excited to try this one (since it was my first-ever attempt at Hot & Sour). My wife made a yummy Korean Sticky Chicken recipe, with cauliflower fried rice, so our soup was meant to be an awesome appetizer/side dish.

As we were preparing it, the smell was right, if you know what I mean? A good hot and sour soup in a Chinese restaurant has that pungent, vinegary, peppery nose to it, which signals your taste buds that they are in for a treat! The consistency was also spot on... Once it thickened up a bit with the cornstarch slurry, and we swirled in the egg, it looked and felt great!

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

But, that is when it went a little south... When I took that first bite, it was good, but it was missing... something. I think it definitely needed more "hot" (which I helped with some crushed red pepper in my bowl), and it needed a little more "sour" (which I helped with another little pour of vinegar into my bowl). Some more white pepper definitely would have helped too...

Polling the Fam: I thought it was decent, and I would certainly eat it again, but it was just sort of underwhelming. A really good hot and sour soup is something I remember and talk about (crave, even) after I've had it at a good Chinese restaurant. But this was not one of those... The soup was filling, edible, starting in the right direction, but ultimately forgettable.  Hunter likewise felt like it needed something he couldn't put his finger on. He said he'd eat it again, but that he would likely not ask me to make it.

Verdict: Not a fan. (2 stars)

Sunday Soup #14: Spicy Thai Curry Noodle Soup

This recipe came from: http://heatherchristo.com/2014/01/27/spicy-thai-curry-noodle-soup/

*Pic 1 - Picture from http://heatherchristo.com/2014/01/27/spicy-thai-curry-noodle-soup/

My Variations from Recipe as Written: I doubled the recipe. I ended up using several more ounces of noodles than the originally recipe called for (because of the weird packaging amounts available at the grocery store). The recipe called for vegetable or chicken broth; I used chicken, so the version I made is not vegetarian- or vegan-friendly (sorry, veg-heads! still love you, though!!).

General Thoughts: This is the second of the two soups I made this past Sunday at a family gathering (the first being Sunday Soup #13, a garlic potato soup recipe you can learn more about here: http://soupersleuth.blogspot.com/2016/08/sunday-soup-13-slow-cooker-roaster.html). My Sister and Mom and I are all huge fans of Asian cuisine, and curries in particular, so we collaborated on this one, hoping it would pay off big... And it did!

The prep for this soup was souper easy (haha, you see what I did there?! - how many times have I made that joke?) and the entire prep/cook time was little more than 30 minutes. It seems like it would be a great soup to make on a weekday night for a bit of yummy Asian flavor, or even for a dinner party with a Asian food theme.  Its simplicity was also its only weakness though, as we thought it really needed something "more" to be great (see below).

The soup was rich and creamy and felt like it coated my throat and tummy with red curry goodness! The Thai flavor was strong, but it was not spicy or even very salty.  The noodles were almost incidental, as the star was the creamy, savory broth.  We all approached our bowls differently: my brother-in-law loaded up on noodles and used the liquid more like a noodle sauce than soup broth; I took what I felt was a good broth-noodle ratio and wound up with a hearty noodle soup; and my Mom took mostly broth and added just enough noodles to avoid having to sip it from a mug. In the end, each of us got exactly what we were looking for and were happy with our bowls.

The soup was actually a little like a Vietnamese pho; not in taste, but in that the soup was just broth and noodles, and each person was able to add garnishes (and even sauces - I added a healthy portion of Sriracha to mine) to their taste that really put the soup over the top.

In the future, most of us agreed that some basic changes would serve to make it even better: we'd definitely give it some protein, such as some chicken breast cut up and sautéed in chili oil; we'd probably add a bit more salt from the outset; we'd throw the garnishes - Thai basil, red chilis, cilantro, green onions - in with the curry paste/garlic/ginger to sauté; and we'd likely go for only about 2/3 to 3/4 of the noodles called for in the original recipe (by the end, the noodles had absorbed almost all the broth).

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

Polling the Fam: I really, really liked it and would definitely look forward to having it again, especially with the suggestions discussed above. My brother-in-law is a noodle-lover and was in heaven with the oodles of noodles that had picked up the yummy curry flavor, so he was happy. My Mom thought it was really good but gave a hearty endorsement to the "less noodles" camp. And, my Sister likewise gave it high marks as-is, but still thought it needed "something" she couldn't put her finger on exactly.  However, as mentioned, we all agreed that our improvements would be a welcome addition the next time we set out to make it.

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)

Sunday Soup #13: Slow Cooker Roasted Garlic Baked Potato Soup

This recipe came from: http://creolecontessa.com/2015/12/slow-cooker-roasted-garlic-baked-potato-soup/

*Pic 1 - Picture from http://creolecontessa.com/2015/12/slow-cooker-roasted-garlic-baked-potato-soup/

My Variations from Recipe as Written: I doubled the recipe and likely used a few extra cloves of roasted garlic than the recipe called for; my family loves garlic! I did not use low-sodium chicken broth. I added crumbled bacon to the list of available garnishes.

General Thoughts: After being gone for a few weeks, I was getting twitchy to make some soup... And, since we were visiting my parents, and my Sister and Mom both really like to cook, we decided to do Sunday Soup together... And make two soups! This was the first one...

The prep on this soup was pretty darn easy... The hardest part was roasting the garlic (thanks Mom)! And, I am an onion wuss, so my Sister fixed the chopped veggies right up, and we were in business...

This soup was extremely hearty, and very thick... The combination of the potatoes and the cheese added during the last part of the cooking process served to make the soup very chowder-like, as opposed to any pretense it had of being a brothy soup.  Some of the people that tried it at our gathering found it to be TOO thick, but I found it to be perfectly creamy.

Even though I used the regular (rather than low-sodium) stock, the soup turned out to be a bit bland.  Several of our diners added salt and pepper to their bowls, and I had to crank mine up with some Frank's RedHot.  I was also a little worried that it might come out too garlicky (even for us), but the garlic, while definitely noticeable, was subtle enough to blend with the other flavors rather than overpower them.

Our biggest take-away was that the garnishes for this soup are a MUST! As I mentioned, as a star all by itself, this soup was a little lackluster, but it turned out to be a terrific base for variation... I added bacon, cheese, sour cream, chives, and hot sauce, and came out with a bowl of wonderful potato soup that I'd be happy to eat again and again.

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when we made it

This was a solid selection, but there are probably better potato soup recipes out there (like my wife's) if you are looking for something special. I would, however, make it again if someone specifically asked for it.

Polling the Fam: It is always great to cook for a crowd because it means many different perspectives. My wife and oldest son were the least impressed, giving it middling marks, and thinking it needed more garlic ("I've had much better potato soup, but this one was okay").  My Mom and Dad liked it overall, saying it had good flavor, but they both thought it was too thick for their tastes. My Sister and I both really liked it and thought, although we'd try to find a way to make the flavors a bit stronger, we'd both make it again.

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)