Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Mark made the most delicious soup yesterday. This will definitely be a regular on our meal plan. You have to be an adventurous cook to make this though. And by adventurous, I mean that you can't be the type of person who has to follow the recipe exactly because there was a little of improvising and adding a little bit more of this or that to get just the right flavor (it probably helps if you've had Hot and Sour soup as well). Otherwise, this soup is really very easy. You could easily adapt this to make it vegetarian. Below is the recipe (from allrecipes.com) we used. Our recommendations/changes are in red

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients

• 5 dried wood ear mushrooms
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 8 dried tiger lily buds---Don't worry about finding the right kind of mushrooms. we used fresh mushrooms so we skipped the soaking step. I found a variety package of mushrooms that had a mix of Bella, oyster, and something else. We put 2 packages in.
• 4 cups chicken stock We used 8 cups, Mark would like to use 10 cups next time
• 1/3 cup diced bamboo shoots--omitted these
• 1/3 cup lean ground pork--we used 2/3 lb but recommend leaving it out for next time
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce--doubled
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar--doubled
• 1 teaspoon salt--omitted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper--doubled
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar--doubled, used regular vinegar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 (16 ounce) package firm tofu, cubed--used extra firm, cubed, with a drained weight of 8 oz and it was the perfect amount.
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion--make sure you don't add this til the end!
• We added sriracha to give this soup the "hot" element--other people recommended different kinds of chili sauces/pastes but sriracha is definitely a staple you should have in your house if you like cooking Asian food.
• Have a tasting spoon handy because we would add something and then decide to add more. It will taste like it's missing something until you add the sesame oil at the end.
• sprinkling some sesame seeds at the end would make a nice touch, we will do that next time

Directions

1. Soak the dried mushrooms and tiger lily buds in warm water for 20 minutes. After trimming off any tough stems, slice the mushrooms. With the fingers, shred the tiger lily stems.
2. Place the mushrooms, tiger lily buds, stock, bamboo shoots, and shredded pork into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in soy sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper, and vinegar. Combine cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add a little of the hot soup to the cornstarch, and then return all to the pan. Heat to boiling, stirring. Add the bean curd, and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Just before serving, turn off the heat. Stir the egg in gradually. Mix in sesame oil. Sprinkle each serving with scallions.

P.S. I don't typically like mushrooms or tofu but this soup has the best flavor and the mushrooms and tofu really soak it up that I could not help but drain my entire bowl and then serve myself a healthy second serving :) Maren even loved it and Noah liked the squishy, white squares. Enjoy!

Pad Thai Peanut Chicken

For our anniversary, Mark and I went out to eat at a Thai restaurant. I really wanted Pad Thai but I also wanted something with peanut sauce. The menu item with peanut sauce was served on spinach which didn't sound as delicious as being served on noodles. So I don't know if this is an authentic Thai dish or not but today I combined the two dishes to make this really awesome dinner.

Pad Thai Peanut Chicken

Ingredients:
1 package (mine was 16 oz) rice noodles

peanut oil
3 chicken breasts (I don't know how many pounds, sorry!)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups chicken broth
2/3 cups creamy peanut butter (I eyeballed this so more like 3-4 large spoonfuls)
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (use rice vinegar if you have it)
sriracha hot chili sauce, to taste (optional)

Veggies:
peanut oil
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 jalapenos, diced (I mostly deseeded mine, I'm not a good judge for how much to add!)
2-3 large handfuls bean sprouts

Toppings (optional, if you are lame) :
chopped peanuts
chopped cilantro
lime
shredded coconut
sesame seeds
sriracha hot chili sauce

Directions:

1. prepare noodles according to package (soak in very hot water for 25 min, then drain)

2. sauce: whisk the cornstarch into the chicken broth until dissolved. Whisk in the peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and keep warm. To add more spice, add a 1/2 teaspoon or so of sriracha. (I added a bit to the big batch and then set the bottle on the table so everyone can adjust to their own liking)

3. Saute chicken in peanut oil. I sauteed the breasts, then chopped them up into smaller pieces but you can chop the raw chicken first if you wanted. I just hate touching raw chicken. I also forgot to season my chicken first which I think would have made the chicken much better tasting! (season with salt and pepper, or if you know something fancier, go for it!)

4. Heat more oil in a LARGE skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Wait a minute or two then add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno. cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots and bell pepper. Cook until all veggies are tender. Add softened noodles and chicken chunks. Add bean sprouts and cook a couple more minutes. Toss the vegetables, pasta, and chicken with the peanut sauce to serve.

5. Squeeze some lime juice on and pile on the toppings. Keep the sriracha handy!

My thoughts: this was a total experiment for me. I've never made Thai food before but it was so good. Noah (4) even asked for seconds. I think Maren (1 1/2) would have too but she's been a little under the weather lately. Mark and I had several helpings. The chicken is not my favorite part about the meal, but then again, I'm not a huge chicken fan. I won't forget to season my chicken next time and I'll probably cut it up into smaller chunks. This dish can easily be converted into a vegetarian meal (veggie broth and no chicken). Also, it's gluten-free for all my celiac/gluten intolerant friends out there. Enjoy!