Working abroad, I really missed fragrant and rich soups. Then I felt especially keenly that without this first course our diet is simply unthinkable. And its main secret is a well-cooked broth.
It seems that the preparation of the broth does not require much effort: you just need to put some product in water and wait patiently until it boils. However, this is a delusion! Try to cook any soup on the “right” basis – and you will experience a completely new taste of a familiar dish.
The main rule: the broth should turn out to be transparent, nutritious, but not too greasy. To do this, it is better to use only clean bottled water (ideally, key). It does not contain heavy metals and chlorine and has a neutral taste.
There are many broths: meat, chicken, vegetable, seafood. For beef, it is better to choose a lean shoulder blade. I recommend using meat on the bone: this will give the broth a special taste, and in addition, it will saturate it with gelatin, which strengthens our connective tissues. Cooking meat broth requires patience: for a good result, it will take at least 2–2,5 hours. I confess that my favorite broth is chicken. It is very tasty and cooks faster than meat. In principle, the fire can be turned off as soon as the chicken is cooked. But if we want to get a really rich taste, we need to leave the broth on low heat for 1,5–2 hours. True, the chicken can no longer be used after this: it is boiled and loses its taste. But all its nutrients go into the broth!
There is an important rule in the preparation of vegetable broths: it is best for them to choose vegetables that do not swell during cooking. These can be carrots, onions, celery, asparagus, broccoli, or cauliflower. A truly fragrant fish broth is obtained from different types of fish (preferably fatty varieties). Each of them gives its own special taste and smell. If you want to spice up the soup, add a fish head to the water, just remember to remove the eyes and gills from it (so that the broth does not become cloudy and bitter). In Asian cuisine, the broth in its usual form does not exist. There, for example, they can combine tuna meat and algae, which gives the dish an unusual fish and vegetable flavor.
Thai shrimp soup
For 4 persons
Preparation and cooking: 20 minutes
Ingredients
12 king prawns 2 stalks lemongrass 4 slices ginger 2 limes 1 green lemon 60 g inoki mushrooms (or sliced button mushrooms) 2 fresh chili peppers 3 tbsp. l. Thai Nam Pla Fish Sauce (or Vietnamese Nuoc Mam Sauce) 1 tsp. brown sugar A small bunch of cilantro
Preparation
Separate the shrimp tails, remove the shell, leaving the last tail ring (the heads and shells will be needed for the broth). Cut the tenderer part of the lemongrass stalks into thin rings, and cut the peppers and green lemons in the same way. Squeeze out 3 tbsp. l. lime juice. Boil the shrimp tails in salted boiling water for 2 minutes and set aside. Put the heads and shells in 1,25 liters of boiling water and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and return to the heat. As soon as it boils, add sugar, lemongrass, ginger and, after 2 minutes, shrimp. After a minute, remove from heat, add lime juice and nam pla sauce. Divide the shrimp broth into bowls with a green lemon slice, a few mushrooms, a chili ring, and 3-4 cilantro leaves in each bowl. Serve right away.
Japanese shabu-shabu soup
For 6 people
Preparation: 1 day
Preparation: 1 hour
Ingredients
500 g beef tenderloin 20 g kombu seaweed 3 tbsp. l. tuna flakes (bonito) 2 stalks leek (white part) 200 g Chinese cabbage 2 carrots 1 daikon radish 200 g shiitake mushrooms 200 g inoki (or button mushrooms) mushrooms 200 g tofu 200 g glass noodles 200 g udon noodles
For the ponzu sauce
100 ml soy sauce 50 ml Japanese vinegar 1/2 tsp. tuna flakes Half an orange 1 lemon 20 ml mirin sauce
For the sesame sauce
100 ml soy sauce 1 tsp. sesame seeds 1 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp ground chili pepper
Preparation
Start with sauces: they need to brew. Mix the ingredients of the ponzu sauce, leave for a day and strain. Mix the sesame sauce ingredients and leave for 2-3 hours. In 2 liters of boiling water put algae and 3 tbsp. l. tuna shavings, cook for 10-15 minutes. Strain the broth. Boil glass noodles (5-7 minutes) and udon (10-15 minutes) separately, drain and set aside. Arrange the thinly sliced leeks, bok choy, carrots, daikon, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles on a serving platter. On another dish, lay out very thin slices of the tenderloin (you need to freeze it a little to cut it). Bring the broth back to the boil, add the vegetables, simmer for 3-5 minutes, then lower the meat slices for 1-2 minutes. Divide the noodles among bowls and pour over the soup. Meat can be dipped in sauces or added directly to soup.
The Japanese turn the preparation of shabu-shabu into a real performance: they put a vat of boiling broth and a dish with slices of mushrooms and vegetables in the middle of the table. And then all the invitees themselves dip thin slices of beef into the soup.