From 5730efb5ab03412ea3d59b2d7a6cbdcb094cac71 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Nguyễn Gia Phong Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2022 02:16:15 +0900 Subject: Add greens soup recipe --- blog/greens.md | 88 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 88 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/greens.md (limited to 'blog/greens.md') diff --git a/blog/greens.md b/blog/greens.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e03feb --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/greens.md @@ -0,0 +1,88 @@ ++++ +rss = "An easy template for making savory soup from green leaf vegetables" +date = Date(2022, 9, 11) +tags = ["lyf", "recipe"] ++++ + +# Green Leaf Soup + +At the time of writing, I am sharing a kitchen with around 40 people +from all parts of the world. Very often, someone asks me to share +a recipe from my cuisine, and I usually have to decline, blaming +the lack of fresh ingredients,[^fresh] while I can only afford to shop +for groceries weekly. While most Vietnamese dishes call for fresh meat +(I can only buy refrigerated one), in certain case it doesn't really matter. +One quick dish that could tolerate days-old meat is a soup of green leaf +vegetables. + +Back when I was still at home, a meal almost always consists of a soup. +When we are about to finish a bowl of rice, we mix in the soup to wash +all of the gelatinized starch (in to our mouth). The soup could be +anything from boiling vegetable broth to [vine spinach] and jute soup +with crab juice. In that range of difficulty, I would rate the following +recipe somewhere in the lower middle. + +## Ingredients + +For a vegetable soup, of course you need a lot of veggie. As much +as you can eat. I would recommend at least two handful per serving[^amount] +of any [Brassica] leafs, e.g. mustard greens, spoon cabbage +or regular cabbage.[^alt] The greener the plant the less starchy it is +and the better it blend with the umami of the meat. + +As for the animal product, minced or ground pork is a common choice. +Minced chicken, fish or dried shrimp also works, but IMHO beef, lamb +or goat could overpower the veggie. Meat is not the star of the show +and should be used moderately, 50 grams[^imperial] would be generous. +There is no vegan variation of this dish AFAICT, except for +reducing to just water, leafs and seasoning, but even a child +could cook that without a recipe. + +In addition, a shallot is required for searing and [fish sauce] for seasoning. +It is OK-ish to use onion in place of the shallot,[^onion] though I am not +a fan of using soy sauce in this dish. Super salt (table salt and MSG 9:1 mix) +is a better substitution in case you can't get your hands on *the* signature +Vietnamese seasoning. + +Last but not least, it would not be a soup without water. +A cup should be enough to emerge the cooked veggie. + +## Preparation + +First, wash and slice the vegetable and throw it in a colander +to let the water rinse of. Next, chop the shallot *thinly*. + +If you bought minced or ground meat, you are done preparing. +Otherwise, it's mincing/grinding time, duh! + +## Cooking + +Turn the stovetop to medium high and put on a stainless steel pan or pot. +Doesn't have to stainless steel, anything smooth without a polymer coating +would do. Pour in a touch of cooking oil (or a tiny spoon of lard) +and start sautéing the shallot. + +As soon as the pot is hot enough, immediately add the meat (don't wait +for the shallot to turn golden brown, the slices are thin enough to +be caramelized as the meat is seared). You don't need to stir since +we don't need evenly cook it right now, but don't let it stick together. +Use a spoon or a scraper to break it up and press it down for faster searing. + +If you have fish sauce, pour it in after the meat finishes browning +to develop even more flavor for a few seconds. Then, deglaze the pot +using water and bring it to a boil. Throw the leafs into the pot +and get the water boiling again. In case you use salt for seasoning, +now is time to sprinkle it in the soup. Let it cook for another +two or three minutes (radiant or thermal conductive coil could be +switched off and maintain the heat for that duration) and it's ready to serve! + +[^fresh]: *Good* Vietnamese food I grow up eating are always from the freshest. +[^amount]: From now on, the amount of each ingredient is listed for one serving. +[^alt]: Out side of the genus, [rau ngót] is awesome if available. +[^imperial]: Or about a dozen bullets in eagle and burger unit. +[^onion]: Not a whole onion, but around the size of your thumb per serving. + +[vine spinach]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basella_alba +[Brassica]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brassica +[fish sauce]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_sauce#Vietnam +[rau ngót]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauropus_androgynus -- cgit 1.4.1