All posts filed under: Soups

Vegan Caldo Verde with Smoky Caramelised Onion and Pecans recipe

Caldo Verde – Portuguese Style Green Soup with Smoky Caramelised Onion and Pecan Nut

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If you have been following my blog from the beginning, you would have come across one of my favourite and earliest recipes on the blog – Caldo Verde. It is Portuguese, means ‘green soup’ and usually served with smoky Chouriço/chorizo (you can find my recipe here). I grew up eating this soup and it became one of my favourite childhood dishes. Creamy velvety potato based soup dotted with freshly chopped kale, flavoured with smoky umami Chouriço slices, the golden fragrant paprika oil from the sausage saturates and infuses the soup in a magically delicious way, the overall taste is pretty unique and it always reminds me of home. But today’s version of Caldo Verde is no ordinary one: there is no chouriço involves so it makes this soup vegan and gluten free. I thought of a way of recreate the smoky and umami taste that comes from the chouriço, which I thought in the beginning was impossible without using ready-made faux meat (shop-bought vegan chorizo normally contains gluten, therefore it is out of the question for …

green curry noodle soup recipe

Green Curry Noodle Soup with Shiitake and Crispy Tofu

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In Chinese culture, noodle has a rather wonderful meaning to life. Noodle represents ‘longevity’ and ‘long life’ (because long strand, long life! Mythically speaking!) therefore, we eat noodles at celebrations such as birthday, wedding and Chinese new year. Since I was a little girl, noodle/noodle soup has been always a staple dish at home. It became one of my ultimate comfort foods, I can eat it at any given time of the day. Usually noodle soup base is light, broth-y like, but sometimes it can be rich and thick which unapologetically clings onto every strand of the noodles. Today’s recipe is a bit like the latter, the soba (buckwheat) noodles are coated with a spicy, coconut-y curry soup, so every slurp of the noodles means a full flavour enlightenment in the mouth. I love the texture of soba noodle (which is a popular type of noodle from Japan), long strand noodle in square shape, made with a mixture of buckwheat flour and wheat flour, with a slightly chewy texture and nutty flavour. (There is also …

Thai Inspiried Coconut Mushroom Soup with Crispy Turmeric Aubergine recipe

Thai Style Coconut Mushroom Soup with Crispy Turmeric Aubergine

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Autumn is the best season to whip up some tummy-warming soups. I often cook pumpkin and squash soup as they are in season and bountiful around this time of the year. Such as my Miso Butternut Squash Soup (this and this one), or this coconut pumpkin lentil soup. These velvety soups somewhat soothing for the stomach and satisfying at the same time. All of these soups are super easy and take relatively little time to prepare and can be made in a large batch for freezing as well (it is handy for a busy weeknight when you are too tired to cook). They are some of my favourite soups to make. Today recipe though does not include pumpkin nor squash, but I find it equally comforting in this season – a Thai style coconut soup that is creamy, umami and full of goodness. The coriander, lemongrass and ginger perfume the soup in a subtle yet uplifting way, a classic trio in Asian (especially Thai) kitchen, infused in coconut milk, gives the soup base a unique …

Kimchi Miso Soup, Asparagus, Mushroom, Black Bean Noodle recipe

Kimchi Miso Soup with Asparagus, Mushroom and Black Bean Noodles

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One of my absolute favourite noodle soups of all time, it has all the right tastes a bowl of noodle soup should have, it’s spicy, tangy and rich in umami. Apart from the taste, what I also like about this soup is you can literally use any vegetables you like (a great way to use up all the ends of vegetables in your fridge), or if you prefer it meaty, add cooked chicken or roasted beef etc. I was recommended to this black bean noodle when I was searching for other gluten free noodle options. I really like its taste and it has a bit of a springy texture and it is almost impossible to over cook it, made with black soy bean, these noodles is also packed full of protein and fibre. But again, if gluten is not a problem for you, you can substitute it with any other types of noodle you prefer (you can even use spaghetti if that’s what you have) . As long as you make the soup base right, …

Roasted Butternut Squash, Chestnut Miso Soup recipe

Roasted Butternut Squash, Chestnut Miso Soup served with Crispy Sage

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I do love a heart warming bowl of soup seasoned with warm spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, tastes festive like Christmas in a cold winter night. I know everyone has at least one winter squash soup recipe up their sleeves, but this one I made is a little different from the others – with a subtle umami flavour. The addition of dashi stock and miso paste which not only gives the soup another layer of flavour but also balances out the sweetness of butternut and chestnut. You can of course replace dashi stock with water or vegetable stock if you want to make it vegetarian. Note: If you don’t have the time to roast the butternut squash, you can skip the roasting bit and just peel and chop the squash and add to the onion fennel mixture and pour enough stock to just cover the vegetables. I love the nutty and intense flavour of the squash after roasting though, so give it a try if you have some spare times in hand. But I …

Thai Curry coconut soup with Aubergine and Kale recipe

Thai Curry Coconut Soup with Aubergine and Kale

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I lost count of how many times I have made this soup and I am not sure why I have never thought of putting the recipe up on the blog.  This soup is so easy to make and the type of curry – Masaman is mild (compares to the more popular green and red curry) but yet full of flavours. I love to add lots of fresh herbs such as coriander, lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaf, chilis and Thai basil when cooking this curry as all the lovely flavours from the herbs will be infused into the soup, every spoonful becomes a delight to the taste buds! I always use shop bought curry paste as there are really good quality ones on the market (I use this one, only handful of ingredients without any additives, MSG etc). But of course if you want to make your own, I am sure you can find hundreds of recipe online for masaman curry paste. As for now, I am sticking with the quick and convenient way and I …

shiitake-meat-ball-noodles-soup recipe

Shiitake Meatball Noodle Soup with Courgette Ribbons

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The outside air smelled of firework the other morning when we were on the way to school. The air was crisp, cold and familiar. Though it didn’t take me long to recognise the combination of the cold air and the smell of exploded firework was part of my special childhood memory. I told my daughter who stood right next to me that it was how Chinese New year smelled like in Macau. We talked about we should try to spend Chinese New Year there in the near future, but it seemed far too long for me to wait, so I closed my eyes, breathed deep and hard as if doing so would bring me back to Macau immediately. We have entered the new Lunar Year, perhaps that’s why the smell of firework seemed so signifiant that morning. Sadly I don’t celebrate it as much as I did when I was still living in Macau with my family. But having said that, I still like to cook one or two dishes that I miss most from home to soothe my homesickness. My mother used …

Pho with meatballs recipe

On Noodles (with a recipe)

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Slurping up a bowl of delicious noodle soup is, for me, a fundamental act of living, like reading a good book or having a meaningful conversation with someone, it is something that I cannot live without. As exaggerate as it sounds, for some people, it could be driving a cutting edge designer car or going on luxurious holidays, but for me, as long as there is a bowl of steaming hot noodle soup in front of me, I am content. Noodle is an essential and staple ingredient in Chinese cuisine. When I was a child, there was (or perhaps still is) a noodle shop in every corner of every street in the old Macau city. We would eat noodle soup or ‘lo-mein’ (noodles dressed in seasoned soy sauce) with ‘won-ton’ (dumplings), braised beef brisket or vegetables (etc) as breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night supper. The noodles (usually two types: thin and thick wheat noodles or rice noodles) served in these small eateries are usually fresh rather than the dried type that we usually get in supermarkets. These fresh noodles have a beautiful …

Mushroom edamame miso soup with brown rice recipe

Miso Soup with Mixed Mushrooms, Edamame and Brown Rice

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I remember I didn’t like mushroom very much when I was a small child, in fact I was frighten of them ever since I saw some small grayish-looking mushrooms growing on the legs of the little wooden stool on our balcony. For a child who was growing up in the middle of the city, the sight of fungus creeping up from her little beloved stool was ghastly. Although it was’t exactly a childhood trauma, but it had haunted me for some time, it took my parents a long while to explain to me that it was the way how mushroom grew (perhaps not on a stool literally) and persuade me that it was delicious and most importantly, it was packed full of nutrients which I needed if I wanted to grow bigger and stronger (ironically this is what I tell my daughter nowadays when she refuses to eat certain food!) Although I later on agreed with my parents that I would eat mushroom again, but I didn’t enjoy eating it at all or I would try very hard to find some excuses to avoid …

green peas, mint and potato soup

Green Soup

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With the school autumn break going underway, a short post is all I can manage for now. But this creamy, minty and vibrant green soup is definitely something you will truly enjoy in a cool autumn day. Minty Peas and Potato Soup Ingredients: serves 3-4 For the soup 1 medium leek, removed the tough green part, chopped 1 small bulb fennel, trim away the thin stalks and finely chopped 1 large floury potato, peeled and roughly chopped 1 cup frozen peas 1L good quality vegetable stock (you might not need it all) 4-6 fresh mint leaves (depends how minty you like) Olive oil Salt and pepper to taste To serve: Feta cheese Fresh mints leaves Extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground black pepper Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, sautéed leeks, fennel and a pinch of salt on medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until the leeks start to soften. Add potatoes in the pan and fry for another minute. Pour in vegetable stock enough to submerge and about 2cm above the vegetables, bring …