Saturday, March 9, 2013

Rosie Makes Shrimp Soup.

 A few weeks ago,
I made 6 quarts of beef pho and froze them.
I pulled out one the other day 
for Middle Hawthorne and me to enjoy,
along with all the accoutrements. 

He relished it so much
that he wanted it again today.
Sorry, Bubba,
but I'm hoarding my pho broth.

I offered him another type of soup -
my chicken consommé.

Would shrimp be OK in it?
Yes.

Rosie has a plan.

Always date your freezer items.
This is my oldest chicken consommé,
bathing in hot water.
From October 3, 2012.

Thaw out the consommé over low heat.

I found out a wonderful little trick.
I thinly sliced some of my frozen ginger -
about 6 quarter sized pieces
and sliced 6 scallions.

Slap and smash the ginger and scallions
 with the side of your cleaver.

Add the smashed ginger and scallions to the consommé.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the ginger and scallions.

My consommé is wonderfully flavorful already,
but the addition of the ginger and scallions
gives it extra oomph.

Trust Rosie and try it.

You can do this little trick with a canned broth also.

I found bean threads and
dried porcini and paddy straw mushrooms
in my spacious pantry tiny hall closet.

Pour boiling water over the bean threads and shrooms.
Cover and let sit for at least 20 minutes.
You want to soften the mushrooms.

These are the ingredients to be cooked in the chicken consommé.
I have chopped bok choy,
thinly sliced celery,
and thinly sliced garlic.

These are the raw ingredients 
to add to the prepared broth.
radishes, thinly sliced
scallions, sliced
jalapenos, sliced, ribbed, and seeded
cilantro, chopped
dried red pepper, crumbled

After simmering the broth with the scallions and ginger,
I strained it through several layers of cheesecloth 
between two small sieves.

I don't like particles.

I love this stuff.
It's crystal clear.


After thirty minutes of soaking,
I took out the mushrooms and dried them off.

Slice in thin ribbons.

Drain the bean threads.

I let Mr. Hawthorne peel the shrimp.

I added a tablespoon of butter
and a teaspoon of peanut oil
in a hot pan
and added the garlic slivers and ...
... the celery.
Sauté over medium low heat for two minutes.

Never let garlic get overly brown.
It gets very bitter.

If you burn your garlic,
throw it out and start over.
Add the sautéed garlic and celery to the simmering broth.

Add in the hydrated shrooms.

 Drop in bok choy.

 Bring broth to a boil and drop in shrimp.
Cook maybe a minute and remove from heat.
Depends on size. I had large shrimp.
Do NOT overcook your shrimp!
Just when you don't think they're NOT done,
remove pan from heat.
Carry-over cooking will take care of them.

These are the fresh, raw ingredients 
with which to embellish my shrimp soup.
I have thinly sliced radishes,
sliced scallions,
sliced jalapenos with the white ribs and seeds removed,
crumbled dried red hot pepper,
fresh cilantro from my yard.
Not from my garden.
But from everywhere in the yard.
I've been trying to coax my cilantro 
to reseed and produce year-round,
like my parsley does.
Each year brings more success with the cilantro.


It's pretty to look at.
Colorful!

I like cooked and raw together.
I like the textures.
Oh, EAM?
Are you reading?
Because I like the mouthfeel of this.

Zesty red radish.
Comforting green of bok choy.
Snap of scallion.
Crisp radish.
Delicate shrimp.

Heat of jalapeno.

A little protein is always nice.

Roasted peanuts worked well in this.

 A most excellent meal.

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