Where to Begin?

There’s so much happening in a soup like Cháo Bôi it’s difficult to decide how exactly to classify it.  Sure, broadly speaking, it’s Vietnamese, the recipe found among the pages of a great gift one of you sent a few years back, Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. What kind of soup is it, though? …

Two-Headed Creature

All sorts of wonders skulk this time of year, and if you’re not careful one of them will claim you. Well, this Halloween’s soul must be particularly needy, as it’s grasped at not one recipe, but at two. Both courtesy of The Nightmare Before Dinner, chef Zach Neil’s collection of deliciously spooky dishes from his…

Where the Jungle Blankets the Andes

You’ll find Colombia, where the mountain chain’s northern end reaches to within miles of both the Pacific and the Caribbean.  Here the cuisine celebrates the broad availability of goods from the mountains (potatoes), the temperate valleys (corn, peas and bell peppers) and the tropical plains (annatto seeds and, of course, the coconut).  Combine these ingredients,…

Give the Blender a Break

In the Ecuadoran soup on which today’s entry is based, the broth and such are put through a blender one last time, just before service, ensuring a smooth consistency.  That’s a shame, as it also pulverizes the bits of color and the traces of texture that make Shrimp and Corn Chowder so interesting, so appealing.…

It’s Even Better Mixed

As with many Cambodian stews, Oxtail and Pineapple Soup is fairly simple, starting off with just beef, onions and pineapple.  Complexity and nuance come only toward the end, as diners choose from all manner of seasonings and vegetables to stir into their individual bowls, unleashing a symphony of flavors. When it all comes together, the…

Best to Have a Green Thumb

That way, you can grow most of the good things that build today’s entry, Okroshka.  It’s a chilled soup, making it perfect for dialing down the swelter enveloping us.  Generous helpings of herbs take full advantage of gardens beginning to hit their stride, and they aid in the soup’s refreshing mission. An aside, this is…

A Soup’s Journey

Mulligatawny started its windings in southern India, where it is a refreshing stew of peppers, onions and fruit, seasoned with curry powder and stewed with rice.  When the British were in the subcontinent they became as keen on the soup as were the locals.  Naturally, the Brits brought the recipe home with them and made…

It’s No Trick!

Today’s stew wants to be bad for you.  It really does.  Generous quantities of bacon fat builds the base, and is used to saute the garlic and shallots.  Then comes the wine and the dark-meat chicken.  It’s not over yet, because two garnishes top it all with a choice of flavored oil or crispy chicken…

Unpacking the Bundle

Just one raft of three lemongrass sections is sufficient to flavor a whole potful of soup, earning Khmer Lemony Fish Soup its name.  The fish glides through a simple broth accompanied only by rice and flavored with only a few herbs, in addition to the aforementioned lemongrass.  The lemongrass provides an herbal, citrusy melody that…

#47

By the time New Mexico gained statehood early in the 20th century, it already drew on culinary traditions reaching back centuries, even millennia.  What New Mexicans were, and are, eating took in influences sequential residents, be they Anglo, Mexican, Spanish or, before them, the Pueblo and the Zuni, contributed to the melting pot. Today’s preparations…