Korean Chicken Soup

Today I decided to try something a bit new for me: Korean Chicken Soup.

6 servings, generous 1 cup each

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1-2 teaspoons hot chile paste or hot chile sauce
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (see How To)
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted (see Tip)

Preparation

1. Combine broth, garlic and ginger in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil; add chile paste (or sauce) to taste. Add chicken and heat through. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Tips & Notes

• How To Poach Chicken Breasts: If you don’t have leftover chicken but you want to make a recipe that calls for cooked chicken, the easiest way to cook it is to poach it. Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water (or chicken broth) to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 15 minutes. (1 pound raw chicken = about 2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken)
• Tip: To toast sesame seeds, place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 149 calories; 2 g fat ( 0 g sat , 1 g mono ); 20 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 13 g protein; 1 g fiber; 857 mg sodium; 392 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Folate (16% daily value)
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 1/2 lean meat

 I have never tried cooking -- or eating -- anything labeled "Korean" before, so I had no real idea what to expect it to taste like. Being that husband and I are both fairly picky eaters, I worried we might not like it. I wasn't sure I'd like the ginger in the soup, but the rest of the ingredients sounded good to me for the most part.

I had to buy some sesame oil and chili sauce. This was the first time for me buying either one, so I wasn't really sure what to look for. Selection was limited, anyway.  I found a few brands of sesame oil, but only one specified toasted sesame oil, as stated in the recipe, and that one's ingredient list showed that it was diluted with canola oil, which didn't sound appealing to me.  If I'm going to buy sesame oil, I want just sesame oil, unless there's something I don't know. Anyway, the other two kinds listed only "pure sesame oil" as their ingredient, and despite their not saying "toasted", I bought one of those, hoping it wouldn't make a big difference.

Chili sauce (I did not see any chili paste) was a puzzler for me, as the varieties I found had ingredient lists quite different from each other; I especially noticed a big difference between the ones on the Asian food aisle and the ones shelved on a different aisle with "American" stuff like ketchup.  I ended up choosing one from the Asian food aisle with an ingredient list that sounded to me more like what I was probably looking for (for one thing, the first ingredient was not "corn syrups").  I used the smaller amount called for in the recipe -- 1 teaspoon -- which was plenty for me, and informed husband that he could add more to his if he wished.

I did not have leftover chicken to use; I bought an approximately 3/4 pound package for this instead.  I went ahead & cooked it all, thinking we'd use the rest for something else later, but after measuring out the 1 cup called for, and looking at the big pot of broth I had cooking,  1 cup seemed a bit skimpy, so I decided to use the whole amount.

I also used brown rice, rather than white, which took longer to cook.  I threw in some of my dehydrated chopped onions directly into the soup, rather than chopping scallions for garnish. I also used dried ginger from the spice cabinet and pre-minced garlic from a jar rather than fresh.

Despite my hesitation about the ginger, I thought the soup was very good!  It did turn out that I probably could have been fine with just the 1 cup of chicken that was called for originally, but the whole 0.75lbs was not overwhelming, and was probably more satisfying.

Wil Wheaton's Black Bean Soup

A while back, I saved this recipe that Wil Wheaton shared with his minions for hot black bean soup.  I finally got around to trying it.  (Follow link to get the recipe.)



I used dried beans (1/2 cup dry, based on the advice here) instead of canned. I could not find Roma tomatoes at my grocery store so I just grabbed 3 medium-ish tomatoes.  I used my usual dehydrated chopped onion bits and jarred minced garlic.  From the get-go, I was not planning to make it very hot, so I did not have, or go shopping for, a chipotle chili.  I chopped the tomatoes into relatively large chunks, because I very much like tomatoes and my husband very much does not, so I wanted to make it easy for us to pick them out as needed.  I did not have a lime; I used 2 tablespoons of lime juice from a bottle.

During the hour or so that the beans were pre-cooking, I got terribly sleepy, to the point that all I wanted was for my little boy to take his nap so I could take one too; but I was determined to finish making the soup first.  I blame that sleepiness for the reason that I forgot what I was doing and dumped out the bean cooking water rather than saving it to use in the soup. (D'oh!)  So when I added any more liquid, I used some chicken broth that I had, rather than just water, for fear it might be too bland.  After tasting it at the end, I also added just a few shakes of chili powder, trying to get in the general vicinity of what W.W. was going for without it being too spicy for me.

When I had a bowl, I decided that rather than the suggestion of yogurt or sour cream (thinking it might be too tangy for me with the tomatoes & lime juice too), I'd go with cheddar cheese on it instead.  It was good!

Egyptian Edamame Stew

I discovered this recipe only relatively recently -- you might have seen me link it on Facebook -- but I keep coming back to it.  For one thing, it's quick and easy to make, and it freezes well; also, it's delicious!

• 1 1/2 10-ounce packages frozen shelled edamame, (about 3 cups), thawed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, or mint
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add edamame and cook until tender, 4 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook, covered, until the onions are starting to brown, about 3 minutes more. Add garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the edamame and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro (or mint) and lemon juice.

One thing I learned the first time I made it is that it's better to let it sit for a little while and let the flavors mellow a bit before filling your bowl; the first time, I scooped some up right away after mixing in the lemon juice & cilantro, and it was too tart for me.  The leftovers are even better the second day.

Feel free to throw in other ingredients you may want to try with it.  Today, I used up my last 3 green onions instead of 1 large regular onion, and I threw in 2 carrots and 2 sticks of celery as well.  (I think I once added mushrooms to it too.)  I didn't thaw the edamame first, and I followed the cooking directions for them on the package, rather than the recipe, since there was a slight difference.  The recipe doesn't specify (I was probably the only noob who wondered), but when you put the canned tomatoes in, throw in all their juice with them, and that's all the cooking liquid you need; it will be a bit thick.  The first time I made it I automatically left out the cayenne pepper -- I'm not fond of overly spicy food.  But when I saw how much stew it made and thought about the tiny amount of cayenne that is suggested, I decided to try it the following time, and it was just fine.  The 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne doesn't really make it hot, just adds some extra flavor.  I tend to be generous with the cumin, coriander, and cilantro, because I really like them.  I haven't gotten up the nerve to try it with mint yet.