Soup-y Saga

I don't know if any study has been done on why we crave soup when there is a chill in the air, when its biting cold, when it rains heavily, when the weather plays foul. Stupid, its the hot liquid that any sane human would want to down by gallons to up the body temperature, many might be tempted to say. Sure! Cupping your palms round a hot cup/bowl/ glass of soup is certainly one of life's greatest pleasure.

There are soups and soups - those in cookbooks, those that are family secrets and those you cook-as-you-go-along-with-what-is-there-in-your-kitchen. For some reasons the last two ones always turn out the best. Then there are the soups your mother makes or made and however much you try to replicate it, something is always missing. If you have grown up in colder climes, heart warming soups are always part and parcel of the daily fare. If I close my eyes I can actually the big casserole of totters soup (pork). The totters would be scraped, washed thoroughly and chopped into medium chunks. A huge saucepan of water would be set to boil, julienned ginger, minutely minced garlic, one or two fresh red chili ( the pepper kind) would be thrown in once the water boiled and a few minutes later the totters would go in. The flame would be lowered, the saucepan covered and left to stew for hours. Sometime in between a couple of peeled and chopped tomatoes would be added, lending a rosy hue to the dish. Then the seasoning would follow- simple salt and freshly ground pepper. As the hours passed and the soup bubbled, the totter pieces would become so soft that pieces of meat and fat would start falling out. The final addition would be a light slurry of freshly ground rice powder and water, the amount depending on the quantity of the soup. A handful of  fresh coriander would go in after that. Often it would be the local coriander- what I now realise is better known as fit-weed, with it subtle coriander taste with that tingly lemony tinge.It is said to be another member of the cilantro family.

Fit-weed

What we sat down to slurp was the yummiest concoction- simple, wholesome and scrumptious. Some of us who didn't actually bite into the totters would, with a fork, mash it thoroughly and mix it into the soup, discarding the bones.Another novelty was the fish soup, yep fish! The fish was usually the sturdy, boneless variety cut into chunks. The fish pieces would be slightly smoked, either over gas fire and often over charcoal fire. The fish would then go into a clear bubbling broth of water, ginger, garlic and chili, seasoned with salt. Often a handful of chopped dill would be added. Stirring was a strict no-no, instead the saucepan would be lifted  by its handles and shaken gently. A teaspoon of freshly ground rice powder and water would be the last addition. We would lick every drop.

Comfort food, call it whatever, every one has a soup story. Somehow everyone seems to be remember every moment related to it. Some are angry stories too! Many years ago, on a flight to Beijing all I could think of was everything Chinese food. It was a long flight, via Singapore. As we approached Beijing, the weather turned real bad and so a diversion it was to another smaller airport. Then came the nightmare of staying cooped in the plane for over five hours.Every half an hour there would be a reassuring announcement, but there seemed to be no taking off. It could have been homicide time but for the American passenger seated next. After every announcement from the pilot, he would promptly call whoever (one, two, many!!!) he was supposed to meet  in Beijing and request them to postpone the dinner by another hour or so. It reached a point where after every announcement, we would all turn to him, waiting for him to make that call and he didn't disappoint us! I doubt if he got his dinner because when he finally landed, it was late into the night and the mad day time traffic rush was missing. Off to the hotel, desperate for a warm shower, a cosy bed and something wholesome and comforting to fill the stomach. The room service menu was fat, but it didn't take much time to zoom on to what I wanted - meat (pork) ball soup with Chinese greens. For whatever rhyme or reason, or rather for no rhyme or reason, the steward insisted on informing me again and again that the meat was pork. And if that wasn't sufficient he went on to educate me that pork meat came from pig. Thank you, yes I know, so can you please hurry up with the order. But nah, our steward wanted to go the  whole hog (sorry couldn't help that!)  It required some oinking of the somewhat rude kind before he accepted that pork that came from pig was was what I wanted to eat. I can still feel the taste, so glorious a number it was.

As the weather turns brr cold, quilts and blankets are sunned and fluffed up, the kitchen too sees some changes in the menu. The all time favourite is the all-in-one-meal  soup. Easy, no rocket science and tasty. 

Chicken meat ball, vegetables and noodle soup

For the meat ball

Chicken mince, 500g

Ginger, grated, 1 tablespoon

Garlic, grated, 1 tablespoon

Chili, 2, diced (de-seed if you can't stand the heat)

Chives or spring onion, diced, a handful

Lemon zest, 1 tablespoon

Kaffir leaves, 4, finely diced (optional)

Salt to taste  

Egg, 1

For the soup

Bacon, 2 rashers, diced

Onion, 1 medium, finely diced

Ginger, 1 tablespoon, finely minced, 

Garlic, 1 teaspoon, finely minced

Chili, 1, diced (de-seeding optional)

Carrots, 200g, small cubes or thin sticks

French beans, 200g, finely sliced

Broccoli, 100g, small florets

Mushrooms, 100g, diced

Pok choy (or cabbage), 100 g, if using pok choy just  break them into big pieces, if cabbage, slice finely

Lemon, 1, zest

Kaffir leaves, 6, rolled and finely diced (optional)  

Salt, to taste

Pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Rice Vermicelli, (The best is from Thailand), 150 g

Lemon, 2 (or 1 large), juiced

Put the chicken mince in a bowl, add the grated ginger and garlic, chili, chives(spring onion), lemon zest, kaffir leaves (optional) and seasonings. Mix well, break in the egg and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for sometime ( If you live in a place where its cold, leave it outside)

Put a thick bottomed casserole or saucepan on gas. Put in the diced bacon and stir, till it starts releasing oil. Add the onion and stir, then put in the ginger and garlic mince and  chili and stir well. Add the carrots, beans, broccoli and stir well. Next add the mushrooms and pok choy or cabbage. Stir thoroughly but lightly. Put in the lemon zest and the kaffir leaves (optional).Add the seasonings. Pour in 2 litres chicken or vegetable stock. If you don't want to bother with that, plain water will do. Let the soup come to a boil.

Take the chicken mince and make small balls and drop, one by one, into the boil soup. This takes a little patience as the soup temperature comes down after you add a few chicken balls. Wait till the soup bubbles furiously to drop in the chicken balls. Once all the chicken balls have been put in and the soup bubbles merrily, break the rice vermicelli and mix in. Then lower the flame and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the gas, pour in the lemon juice, mix and serve hot with garlic bread or dinner rolls.