Jook or Rice Congee Starter

Jook, essentially a rice broth or porridge, to me is the equivalent to how I imagine most people feel about Chicken Noodle soup. It's what I want when I'm not feeling well. It settles the stomach and it's just a really nice comfort thing. Plus it's associated with all kinds of memories growing up when my Mom would make it for me and/or the family. One instance in particular stands out...when I got my wisdom teeth out and couldn't really eat much and my stomach felt all gross after the 'surgery.' (Does it count as a surgery if they put you out for it?) My mom made a pot of this when we got home and kept it on the stove for me for whenever I felt like I could keep something down. *Sigh* reminiscing...

But for the longest time I really had no idea how on earth to make it. I did try on a couple of occasions, but it always ended up a pretty ridiculously goopy mess usually with a thick layer of it stuck to the bottom of the pan. Definitely not what you want and nothing quite like what I remembered from when my mom made it. It wasn't until I tried doing the ratios from this blog that I got consistent results that actually tasted great.

So this is a basic variation of Appetite for China's vegetarian variation (she also has a chicken one) that originally came from the New York Times. I call it a starter because from this point you could add pretty much anything to personalize it to your taste. I usually add stripped up pieces of ham or something, though you could add pretty much any meat and anything else you might like to throw in there. I don't make as large of a batch as she does, mainly because we wouldn't be able to eat that much (serves 6-8 people) and I don't currently have a pot anywhere near large enough to make a batch that large. Now if only I could find the dried crumbled fish that my mom also used to have...think bacon bits, but with fish...sounds weird but it's fantastic on this!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup rice, uncooked
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 3-4 cups water
• 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Dash of white pepper
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• Green onion for garnish

PREPARATION:

1. Combine rice, stock, and water, bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour and a half stirring on occasion and adding more water as necessary to keep essentially same ratio as when you started.
3. Add all remaining ingredients, except garnish, at some point during the simmering process depending on how strong you want the other flavors incorporated. I sometimes add it in right after reducing the heat to simmer. Sometimes not until later, in kind of just depends on whenever I get everything else all ready to go.
4. When consistency of rice is as desired (sometimes you want the rice a little more formed and sometimes I like completely broken down-I guess this makes more sense if you're familiar with jook and you've made it before...) serve hot, throw green onions on top and enjoy!

Peeeeea Soooooup!

Ok, so quite awhile back went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch and got the soup that came with my meal. Usually I'll try and get a cream based soup, as Clam Chowder is my *favorite,* but for whatever reason I was feeling kinda adventurous so decided to get their pea soup. Growing up I did not like it at all, looked horrible and clumpy and just can't ever remember it being all that appetizing. However this time, it was amazing! Loved it! Was sooooo good and definitely hit the spot. 

Since then I looked around for various pea soup recipes to find one that I could easily make at home that didn't require that much effort. And the reason I'm posting is ... SUCCESS! I've found one that I really enjoy and has been really easy to make. By now I've already made it 3 times or so now, so I'm at the point where I can share how I've made it etc. It's essentially Alton Brown's recipe that I've tweaked just a little to get the results I like. And this is great with some toasted croutons (herb breads taste the best!) and fresh parmesan sprinkled on top. Sooooooo good! It's now coming up on warmer weather so not as weather appropriate, but on those days where it's cooler and you just want a little something something to warm you up this is perfect! Oh, and one more thing, this gets better and better after it sits, so leftovers taste great!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp butter (Alton's calls for unsalted, but I've never had that on hand so I just use salted)
• 1 med-large size onion depending on how much onion you like-the flavor doesn't come off really strong so if you can use a lot if you like
• 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 1 lb bag of dried green split peas
• 6 cups chicken broth (use either canned or bullion, tried it both ways, haven't noticed a change in taste)
• 2 Tbsp curry paste (the original recipes calls for powder, I've only ever used paste because that's what I generally use in my cooking-I imagine either way is just fine)
• 1 cup - 1.5 cups of cubed ham-best if you use ham off the bone instead of processed
• Salt and Pepper to taste

PREPARATION (Copied directly from Alton Brown's Recipe):

Place the butter into a large (4 to 6-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sweat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, making certain not to allow onions or garlic to brown.

Add the peas, chicken broth and curry powder. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at a simmer until the peas are tender and not holding their shape any longer, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Using care and a stick blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency. Watch out for hot splatters.

Instant Pot Directions: Cook on high pressure for 15 min, natural release 10-15 min

Note: I generally let it simmer for a full hour so I don't end up with any hard pieces in the peas. And because I don't have an immersion blender I ladle out 2/3 to 3/4 of the peas/onion into a blender and blend it up and then pour it back in.  I've done it where I've actually blended up all of it, and while it works, it just ends up being goopy without any shape, so it's better if you leave some of it unblended-though if you do it this way, you may want to do a finer chop of your onion at the beginning.

I have noticed on occasion too that it can get more soupy than thick, so you can just add some cornstarch to a couple Tbsp of cold water and add in after the blending bit and bring it back up to a boil. I imagine if you wanted the soup to stretch farther if you've got guests etc. you could add more water/chicken stock at the beginning and than to thicken it up use the same method.

As well, as the original recipe didn't call for any ham, I just add it in at the end to the pot after adding back in the blended portion. You can simmer it for an additional 5 min or so just to get the ham up to temp. Serve with croutons and cheese on top!

Cream of Anything Soup

INGREDIENTS:
For a medium white sauce

• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 Tbsp chicken bullion granules
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 cups milk
  

PREPARATION:

1. Melt butter or margarine in saucepan over low heat.
2. Blend in flour, bullion, salt and pepper.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in milk.
5. Return to heat and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
6. Let sit on warm heat in pan until vegetables are ready to add.
7. Place cut vegetables in another saucepan, add enough water to barely cover the vegetables.
8. Boil vegetables in saucepan until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful all the water does not boil out.
9. Mix the vegetables and the water that they were cooked in with the white sauce/soup mixture together. NOTE: prior to mixing vegetables and white sauce, you may puree part or all of your vegetables in the blender. Only use enough of the vegetable water to make the soup the desired consistency. Serve.
   

Note: The following recipes call for additional ingredients. When onions, celery, etc are needed, sauté them separately and add to completed white sauce. When dry herbs/spices are needed, add with bullion, salt and pepper in white sauce preparation.

Cream of Potato:

• 4 diced potatoes, washed and peeled
• 2 stalks diced celery, washed
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
  

Cream of Asparagus:

• 4 cups asparagus
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Dash of ground nutmeg or mace

Cream of Green Bean:

• 3 cups green beans
• 1 teaspoon crushed savory
  

Cream of Broccoli:

• 4 cups broccoli
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme leaf
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 bay leafs (added to white sauce and removed before serving)

Cream of Carrot:

• 2 cups carrots (about 6 large)
• 1 Tbsp dry parsley (add with salt, pepper and bullion)
• 1/2 tsp dry basil (add with salt, pepper and bullion)

Cream of Cauliflower:

• 4 cups cauliflower (about 1 head)
• 1 tsp curry powder (add with salt, pepper, and bullion)
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped fine (sauté in oil until soft and add to completed white sauce before adding vegetables)
• 2 green onions for garnish

Cream of Zucchini:

• 3 cups zucchini (about 4 medium)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg (add with salt, pepper and bullion)

Cream of Mushroom:

• 3 cups mushrooms
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg