Chinese Noodle Soup
Udon Noodle Soup
Portuguese Fish Stew
My first memory of eating noodles was in a dish much like this one. It also had, as I remember, strips of ham and scallion and delicate bits of egg pancake floating on top, so feel free to add anything you like to the broth. Since that time, by the way, I’ve always considered noodles one of the standard soup vegetables. Best of all, for this soup, are the fresh Chinese noodles that are sold in Chinese Markets.
4 to 6 servings
6 cups chicken broth, canned or homemade
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon Tabasco
¼ pound Chinese noodles
Bring the chicken broth to a simmer. Season it with soy sauce and Tabasco. Rinse the noodles and lower them into the pot so that the boiling never stops. When the noodles are cooked, ladle some broth and noodles into each bowl.
VARIATION
For the egg pancake, smear yolk and white together. Cook on griddle or in skillet, turning once to set. Roll each like a crepe and cut in thin strips to garnish noodles and broth. 1 egg per serving.
The Japanese make a specialty of hearty soups full of thick, slippery udon noodles. Make them yourself, following the recipe on page 48, or buy them in an Asian grocery. And be sure that the broth is dense with good things to eat.
4 to 6 servings
6 cups cold water
1½ pounds chicken necks, wings, and backs
6 slices fresh ginger
2 leeks, washed, including 2 inches of the green
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites, beaten
4 ounces udon noodles
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal, including 2 inches of the green
4 ounces Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
Put the water in a very large pot with the chicken parts. Add the ginger, leeks, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, skim off the froth that rises to the top, and simmer 30 to 45 minutes partially covered.
Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth and pour the hot broth through it into a bowl. Discard the chicken bones, skin, meat, and vegetables, wash out your stockpot, and return the soup to the pot. Bring to a boil and swirl in the beaten egg whites. When the broth returns to the boil, remove from the heat, and strain it again through a colander lined with cheesecloth.
Cook the noodles in boiling water until they are done. Rinse well, and place them, with the radishes, scallions, and Chinese cabbage, in individual soup bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the vegetables and serve at once.
PORTUGUESE FISH STEW
This is one of my favorite soups, a hearty main-course dish that could be served to friends with bread, cheese, and fruit. It is related to the San Francisco specialty cioppino. I especially like it with orzo, a tiny granular pasta that looks just like rice.
4 to 6 servings
28-ounce can Redpack whole tomatoes in purée
2 small onions, sliced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
6 leaves fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
1 pound peeled cooked shrimp
1 pound fresh tuna, cut in ½-inch strips
1 cup orzo
In a very large pot, cook the tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the oil. Strain or process the sauce and return it to the pot. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. The soup can be done ahead of time to this point.
When you are ready to serve the soup, bring it back to the boil. Put in the shrimp and the strips of raw tuna, and turn off the heat immediately.
Cook the orzo in boiling water. In the bottoms of 4 to 6 soup bowls, put a large spoonful of cooked orzo. Ladle over the orzo portions of soup containing some shrimp and some fish.
Vegetable Sauces
Pesto
(freezer • with walnuts • with parsley)
Light Tomato Sauce
(with other herbs)
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Mushroom-Tomato Sauce
Spinach-Anchovy Sauce
Braised onion Sauce
Mushroom Sauce
Herbed Butter Sauce
