Ramen, a Slurpy Soup

So, I love soups.  I would eat them every day.  I love broth ones, porridge ones, creamy ones.  In a box with a fox, in a house with a mouse.

My wonderful, long-suffering Italian husband… he’ll eat them. He’s a good sport. But he doesn’t love them.

I love Asian food.  I’m a military brat who spent a total of 6 years of her childhood on Okinawa (and some other random places, too). I grew up in a home that appreciated this “ethnic” food, and we ate it frequently.

My wonderful, long-suffering Italian husband… he’ll eat it. He’s a good sport.  But he doesn’t love it.

UNTIL.

Homemade ramen soup.

He actually asks for this. I’m not entirely convinced it’s because it has a pasta-like carb in it ;-) but for us… happy medium when I’m craving Asian and he’s not feeling so tolerable to my other dishes. Like cabbage stir-fry or fried rice.

Now, my disclaimer is this: there is probably going to be some ramen purist out there that will claim I didn’t do this the correct way.  You’re probably right.  There’s likely many restaurants out there that could make this more authentically.  However… this foodie is on a budget. With legit health concerns over the food I eat. So I think this is a balanced compromise.

We start this soup like any other soup or stew-like food, like my chicken soup, chili, or even stroganoff – frying the onions in butter. You can create no better base than this!

INGREDIENTS:

butter, for sauteing
1 small onion, or about 1 c. chopped
1 medium carrot
1 pound of ground pork… as best sourced as you can afford
1 clove garlic (or two!)
1/2 c. san-j soy sauce (I can’t recommend any other brand)
1 tsp. ground ginger
dash red pepper flakes
ground pepper to test
5 cups water (or broth)
1 cup frozen peas, optional (but delicious!)

Note on the veggies: by all means… feel free to increase them. I often do, to increase vegetable intake

Other items:
ramen noodles
hard-boiled egg, at least 1/2 per person
chopped scallions or chives
diced carrots, mushrooms… lots of topping ideas. We usually stick to green onions, but if you know you have a favorite asian topping, I promise you can add it and it will be fine!
And… I recommend chopsticks :)

DIRECTIONS:

Do your thing with the butter, onions and carrots.  I would recommend using a big pot or dutch oven.  Also, side note, this smells like heaven. If you were slightly hungry before starting, now you’re likely salivating.

Remove the vegetables (I use a slotted spoon) once they are softened (they don’t have to be mushy… you’re going to boil it later) and brown the the ground pork.  DO NOT SALT IT. If you’re a home cook and you’ve done browning meat any length of time, a lot of recipes call for salting it.  You will regret it because of that soy sauce that’s coming on later.  However, feel free to go nuts with the pepper. The soup can be as spicy or peppery as you want, so do this as what you feel is appropriate for your tastes.

Now that the pork is browned, add the veggies back in.  Sprinkle on the ginger and red pepper flakes.  Stir and let it saute for just a minute.  Now you may add the soy sauce.

Use the soy sauce to scrape up the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot … this is also called deglazing.  You want the brown bits because it adds flavor. I promise it’s true, because the depth is not as great if you tried to clean it off (and not use it) and then continue cooking with a clean pot.

Add your water.  You could use broth… wouldn’t hurt.  However, if it’s salted you might run into issues make the soup too salty.

Throw in your peas if you’re using … and begin the boil.

Now while this is boiling, I recommend doing the following:

1. get your hard-boiled eggs ready, if necessary
2. get your ramen noodles ready
3. chop your garnish

I know there are guides out there for how to boil eggs. I just use this sucker (check it out here). Love it. Had it for years and it was a cheapy kitchen spontaneous buy.

You want to boil the soup for about 10 minutes, (this is about cooking the veggies the rest of the way), then let it simmer for another 15 minutes or so.  Just honestly, you could rush this. Or draw it out.  Whatever you are working with in time. I wouldn’t recommend letting it simmer for an hour or anything… I think the peas and carrots would go to mush. Unless you like that kind of thing… then knock yourself out.

Now here’s how it’s going to vary… prepping whatever ramen you’re using. I use gluten-free ramen noodles. I’m still not over this… my ITALIAN HUSBAND LOVES THESE THINGS. 1) They’re Asian and 2) they’re rice (not wheat). My noodles call for me to boil them for a very short amount of time, then run then under cold water. I just have to tell you… if you buy them and they say to run it under cold water…. DON’T SKIP IT. It prevents them from cooking further and not turning gross and mushy. The benefit of the soup still simmering is that once I drop the noodles in, it rewarms them! It works beautifully.

Because I have to limit my carb intake, I do not put 4 servings of ramen noodles in the big pot once they’re done.  I ladle out the soup into individual bowls then put in the cooked pasta as per our carb preferences.  (You can buy a big pack of these noodles here.)

And then… top it.  That egg, y’all. THAT EGG. And those scallions. I really wouldn’t skip these garnishes!

Isn’t this soup great and forgiving? it really is what you want it to be. Maybe that’s why my Italian husband loves it, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISCLOSURE: There may be affiliate links within this post. I never recommend anything arbitrarily and receive small financial benefit. If I choose to recommend something, it’s of my own free will and volition and MORE because I think you’ll benefit from hearing about it more than me gaining the $$.

Guest Post: Meet one of our besties and her Cauliflower Carrot Soup!

We are so tickled to introduce to you one of our dearest friends (and fellow foodie!), Lauren Wyman.  She is a driven woman, follower of Christ, raising two littles on her own, and is SO much more creative on vegetables! This is BY FAR not the only solution she has created to increase vegetables in her diet! Please welcome her to the blog!

I’ve always enjoyed cooking and love to learn and experiment with food, good food and creating new flavors. This recipe was born out of boredom and a desire to put more vegetables into my daily diet. Let’s face it, eating 5 cups of vegetables a day is not the simplest task!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 medium organic raw whole carrots (with at least half the green stalks still attached)
• a full head of organic cauliflower
• one shallot (I prefer these to onions because they sweeter)
• 1/4-1/2 cup of grassfed whole milk or organic heavy cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup of free range organic chicken broth or organic vegetable broth
• 6-8 pieces of bacon cooked till crispy (I used Trader Joes ends and pieces)
• 1/2 -1 tbsp of dried basil and salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

After cutting and washing the vegetables, I put them all in a steamer and cook them until I can push my fork through the carrot without trouble. While the veggies are cooking I start cooking my bacon on a low heat so it’s get crispy.

I then put all the steamed veggies and all ingredients (except the bacon!!!) into my food processor and pulse until it’s all smooth (mine takes about 5-7 minutes).

I then put everything in another pot to out in the stove to warm up and season it to taste.  While it’s warming, I take out all the bacon and layer it with paper towels to get off excess grease and then crumble it.

Put the soup into the bowl and top with crumbled bacon and some shredded cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

Waste Not, Want Not – Split Pea Soup

I hate, hate, HATE to waste food.  If I paid my hard-earned money for it, I better consume it all!

We usually have a Christmas ham, and I really wanted to use that leftover ham bone.  Everything I’ve read about beef and chicken bones being used a soup/broth base only fueled the desire to figure it out!

So, I introduce to you:

Split Pea and Ham Soup!

I really wanted to just eat it. Not sit around and take pictures of it.

INGREDIENTS:

1c dried split peas

water (will depend on how much your peas soak, size of pan, etc)

olive oil for frying

1 onion, chopped finely

1 leftover ham bone from a roast (still leave it meaty! but please note it should’ve already been cooked once before)

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme (*I find it helpful to tie them together with butcher’s twine so the twigs stay together, making removal much easier)

2 carrots, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Let the peas soak in at least 2 cups of water overnight (at least 8 hours, I did mine around 14). You can almost always add in more water than necessary and drain it off later.
2. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven for a couple of minutes, but be careful that it doesn’t smoke (overheated olive oil isn’t good for you!).  Add the chopped onions once the oil is hot. *Do not skip this step! It is the base to all good soups!*
3. Stir the onions frequently.  As the onions start to caramelize, add the soaked peas, 3-4 sprigs of thyme, ham bone.  Add just enough water to reach the top of your ham bone (I had to add about 6 cups).
4. Bring this to a rolling boil, and let it boil for about 20-30 minutes.  Remove the ham bone to let it cool.
5. While the bone is cooling, add the carrots and celery and let it boil for about 5 minutes, then bring it down to a simmer.
6. Once the ham bone is cool enough to handle, cut off all meat into bite size pieces.  Add just the meat back to the pot.
7. Bring to a boil again, and add water to the soup for desired consistency.  You can do this step a few times to get it to where you want it, but I would suggest only adding in 1/2 c at a time, and letting it simmer on low for at least five minutes before adding any more.  ** TIP: You know the vegetables and soup has cooked long enough when the thyme leaves have cooked off the twigs.  (If this hasn’t happened by the time you reach this point, continue to simmer until those leaves are off!)
8. Let the soup cool for about 5 minutes before serving for final thickening/cooling. Be sure to remove the thyme before serving!

I found that sometimes you may want to blend some of the peas for a smoother consistency.  I had intended to do this when I first set out to create the recipe, but found that the peas had mushed up so well between the 14 hour soak and slow cooking.

I made this for my husband and father-in-law (who loves split pea soup!) and they couldn’t believe how great it was! I admit, I’m not typically a fan of split-pea soup, but this recipe totally changed my opinion.

A sicky’s food

So I’m sick again.  And while this is not necessarily newsworthy, a recipe I started a few months ago has been wonderful a lifesaver.  This chicken soup is not terribly complicated, but we could NOT get over how satisfying it was.  But that might be our immune system talking.

One thing to note in this recipe – the rice is totally optional.  I went for it when serving it to my husband who needs more carbs than I, but the soup can definitely be great without it.  (And you could probably substitute GF noodles for the traditional “chicken noodle soup”, but you wouldn’t need to cook them as long as the rice.)

INGREDIENTS:
1-2 tbl coconut oil (whatever it takes to cover the bottom of your pot/dutch oven once it’s melted)
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled & chopped
4c homemade chicken broth (how I make mine – using Shaye’s method but in a crockpot)
4c water
2 cuts of thawed chicken, or equivalent (I usually do a chicken breast and a cut of dark meat [thigh, etc.])
3 sprigs of fresh thyme (I recommend tying them together with butcher’s twine. Easier to fish out the twigs!)
About 1 tbl course salt
1 tsp garlic powder
dash of fresh pepper
1/2 tsp of dried sage
1/2c white rice (why I use white instead of brown: here)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt your coconut oil over medium heat so it’s covering the bottom of your pot/dutch oven.  Once it’s hot (not smoking, but close), throw in your chopped onion.
2. Stir your onion occasionally so it doesn’t brown.  Once it starts to carmelize, add your carrots. (True story: I used 4 or 5. But I LLLLOVVVEEEE carrots. Don’t believe me?)
3. Stir onions and carrots in oil for about five minutes, to the point they’ve *just* started to soften.
4. Add the broth, water, chicken, thyme, and salt and dried spices.
5. Bring to a rolling boil, then add the rice.
6. Let the soup simmer about 30 minutes. THE “DONE” TESTS:You know it’s done when the thyme leaves are almost entirely cooked off the twigs, the chicken easily removes from the bone with a wooden spoon, and rice is done to desired “mushiness.” (I’m sorry. I don’t know a better word.)
7. Once the soup passes the “done” tests, remove the chicken and cut/shred the meat.  Before adding the meat back in, taste test the soup.  Make sure it’s garlicked (I know. Another made-up word.) and salted to your preference; add more in at this time if you so desire.
8. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes after adding the meat back in.

So let your soup cool for a few minutes before serving and then enjoy! It’s amazing how much better you feel once you’ve had chicken soup.

This was right before I consumed it all within 2 minutes.