Shitakei Mushroom Soup

Lately i've been craving for mushroom soup but i didn't wanna go out there , order and have it. I want something homemade, something without the typical generic mushroom soup taste that most restaurants offer. Also I didn't wanna get the cream of mushroom from the can as well so that leave me no choice but to figure out how to make something creamy minus the sour cream/ cream on my own. This is also my first time making so i was a lil clueless on what should i include it in.

I definitely need some fresh mushrooms, the dried ones will only add more flavour to it. i don't have any button or straw mushrooms therefore , i've no choice but to use up all the shitakei mushrooms, the remains from the pasta i made a couple of days back.

INGREDIENTS

* 280g fresh shitakei mushrooms

* 1large yellow onions

* 4 cloves garlic

* 2 sprigs fresh thyme

* 1/2 tbsp butter or more

* Black pepper

* Salt to taste

* 500ml chicken broth

* 200ml low-fat milk

* 3/8 tsp vanilla (optional)

* A dash of nutmeg (optional)

Method:

1) Heat your sauce pan and add in butter and olive oil.

2) Saute the garlic and onions.

3) Add in your fresh thyme and stiry then add in the sliced shitakei mushrooms.

4) Season with pepper and give it a stir before adding in salt.

5) Give it another stir then pick out your thyme leaves.

6) Add half of the chicken broth into your sauce pan, leave another half to be added into the blender/food processor.

7) Pour the mushrooms and the chicken broth into the blender/food processor, pulse it once or twice before adding the remaining chicken broth and puree until its smooth.

8) Once you're done, pour the mushroom soup back into your pot and heat it up.

9) Season your soup further with salt or pepper or even nutmeg powder, but thats entirely optional.

10) Add in your low-fat milk and let it simmer before adding in your vanilla extract.

Note:

Most mushroom soups have got some white wine/sherry in it, so instead of using sherry, i substituted it with some vanilla extract, at least that's what i learnt about substitution for sherry.

You can serve the soup with some toasted garlic bread or like me , spread a thin layer of marjerin on a slice of bread and toast it!

I like the texture of the soup but somehow the aroma of thyme was a lil too strong for me , also it has a somewhat bitter end note to it, i'm yet to figure out why though. Perhaps its the type of mushrooms i used. I should have opt for some combination ( portobello, oysters, button, straws) but oh well, its not that bad for a make to do with what's available in my fridge :) Or maybe i've added a bit too much of nutmeg or was it the vanilla extract? Hmm.. i think the next time when i do this, i'll just add some white wine to it instead.

Mashed Chickpea Soup with Coriander

Last Monday, i was at this Lebanese restaurant and the Addas soup served was flavourful and good, especially when you're craving for something hot and soupy at the same time! So today i was pretty bored of cooking up the usual everyday stuff and i thought why don't i make to do with what i have available in my kitchen and i got the idea on transforming my chickpea (garbanzo) into the lentil soup (Addas) i tasted 2 nights ago.

I prefer the dry chickpeas where you can buy in bulk instead of the canned ones. But no matter how i tried cooking the chickpeas, it's never really how i wanted it , tender and yet soft therefore , i resorted to the canned one for ease of use and also minus the time needed to cook it.

INGREDIENTS
* 255g chickpeas
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1 large onion, finely diced
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 7 cups of water/broth
* 2 tsp cumin powder ( adjust accordingly)
* 1/4 tsp turmeric
* Handful of finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:
1) Get ready your chicken broth and keep it boiling.
2) Heat your non-stick with some olive oil and saute the minced garlic and onions while you let the broth boil.
3) Once the garlic and onion's ready, pour some chicken broth and let it simmer for a while more before transferring the garlic and onion into the pot of broth.
4) While its boiling, mashed the chickpeas with your fork if you like some texture, otherwise you can put it in the food processor and blend it before adding it into the broth.
5) After you've added the mashed chickpeas, add the cumin and turmeric powder.
6) Let it boil further before adding the chopped coriander.
7) From time to time , season with salt and pepper.

Note:
For those that like your soup to be on the thick side, you can reduce the amount of water used or add more mashed chickpeas into it.

You can serve it as it is or with a hot lebanese bread or any breadstuff.

Allow a longer duration when you boil your soup because the time will just make your soup more flavorful and taste better; like a good wine that age beautifully with time.

Dory Fillet and Soft Tofu Soup

This mornin when i got up, i've got this craving for some clear soup. I didnt wanna make the usual potatoes, carrots and chicken soup. So i thought why not jst use the two tubes of soft tofu i have in the fridge and the remainin dory fillet i've got up in the fridge. 

So for this easy clear soup, here are the ingredients you need.

INGREDIENTS:

* chicken broth
* soft tofu/beancurd (cut into cubes)
* spring onion ( cut into 2cms or so)
* shredded ginger
* few sprigs of coriander
* white fish fillet ( i used Dory since i've some left in the fridge)
* Chinese rice wine ( Shao Hsing Hua Tiau)
* ginger juice
* salt
* pepper

Dory
* cut into bite size or slightly bigger
* season with Chinese rice wine, ginger juice & salt for 5-10mins

Method:

1) Pour chicken broth into pot and bring it to simmer
2) Add ginger, fish fillet and beancurd
3) Bring it to boil over high heat
4) Reduce heat to medium and cook until flavourful
5) Just before turning off the heat, add some Chinese rice wine, pepper and salt to taste
6) Add in spring onions 
7) Sprinkle with coriander and serve immediately

So in my own personal bowl, i added more pepper to it :) and my mom was teasin me bout how much i love pepper and when i'm running my own kitchen in the future it'd be all pepper and more pepper for the customers!