Tag: soup

Quick and Easy Soup for Slow and Difficult People

Soup fills many needs, effortlessly crossing international and linguistic boundaries: comfort, love, adventure, education, and healing. Soup Peddler in Austin, Texas knows this well, inspired by a single man’s desire to translate his love for community and travel, two seemingly disparate concepts, into one pursuit. Cooking is the ultimate answer to bridging this divide.

Who’s the Soup Peddler?

Over twenty years ago, Soup Peddler founder David Ansel really was hitting the streets with bicycle-based deliveries of his favorite soups and stews. The business has grown to include a half dozen brick-and-mortar locations that offer cool fruit smoothies to combat the summer heat, but the sentiment remains the same. Whether it’s through a straw or on a spoon, there’s love in this formula.

Luckily for us, and for anyone outside of city limits, it’s not a secret formula in the least. The Soup Peddler’s Slow and Difficult Soups was published in 2005, shedding a light on David’s winning recipes. Don’t let the sardonic title scare you off; it strikes me as quite the opposite in practice. Case in point, the ever-popular mulligatawny soup that remains a perennial favorite on the menu.

What’s mulligatawny soup?

Thick with tender vegetables and lentils, a warm but mildly spiced undercurrent of curry runs through the soulful, deceptively simple base. To fit the rough translation of “pepper water,” I like to spike mine with fresh jalapeños, not included in the original version. What’s more, I’ve made some light modifications to streamline the cooking process. I’m already difficult enough without my soup following suit, after all.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

Hot and Bothered Over Hot and Sour Soup

Of all the foods I crave, hot and sour soup is most commonly out of reach. Ubiquitous across Chinese restaurant menus big and small, often given away for free with a lunch combo, it’s a cruel joke that there’s no soup for me.

Traditionally a Sichuan staple, standard recipes include all the usual non-vegan pitfalls: chicken broth, beaten eggs, and sometimes thinly sliced pork. In rare instances, you may luck out and find a vegetarian option without meat, but completely vegan versions are true unicorns.

Hot and sour soup is a snap to make at home, but not without mild controversy. Truth be told, I’ve been making some version of this recipe for years on the down-low. It’s one of those everyday staples that doesn’t feel special enough to share in the spotlight, and moreover, it would undoubtedly raise the ire of culinary perfectionists for all its obvious flaws.

Authenticity be damned; no one should gatekeep good food. When I’m too tired or busy to travel to the Asian specialty store for the conventional ingredients, when I’m just trying to scrape together pantry staples to feed myself, or when I’ve simply run out of fucks to give, this is the soup I turn to.

How To Make Hot And Sour Soup More “Authentic”

  • Use bamboo shoots instead of shredded carrots
  • Swap the balsamic vinegar for black vinegar
  • Replace the shiitake mushrooms with wood ear mushrooms
  • Add dried lily buds

How To Make Hot And Sour Soup Less “Authentic” But More Accessible

  • Use vegetable stock instead of vegan chicken broth
  • Omit the plant-based egg component
  • Add green peas, diced tomatoes, or corn kernels
  • Finish with sriracha or chili oil, to taste

If you find this recipe offensive, categorically distasteful, or personally upsetting, guess what? It’s not meant for you. For everyone else trying to get a hot and sour fix with limited means: Welcome. Grab a bowl and a spoon, there’s plenty to go around.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)4 Comments

Tidbits from Tibet

Like any reasonable human fortunate enough to try them, I love momo. All dumplings are delicious, but something about this Tibetan specialty is particularly captivating. These two-bite round bundles look like beautifully wrapped packages, which isn’t too far from the truth. It’s a real gift because making momo from scratch is no quick fix meal.

Funny enough, despite that, the thing that I crave most when I think about momos aren’t the dumplings themselves, but the unbelievably creamy tomato soup that comes with an order of jhol momo. Spicy, rich, and intensely flavorful, it’s essentially liquefied chutney that’s been spiked with toasted sesame seeds. Once blended, that nutty goodness transforms the brilliant red brew into the best kind of tomato bisque on the planet.

I still haven’t mastered momo, but I have cracked the code on a shortcut jhol achar soup. Garlic, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorns dance in this aromatic mixture, bolstered by the natural sweetness of lightly caramelized onion. Canned, fire-roasted tomatoes add an instant earthy, woodsy, smoky complexity, while tahini ensures a smooth finish every time.

This soup is so good that you don’t even need dumplings to make it a meal… But if you do have access, it certainly doesn’t hurt. If you can’t get your hands on vegan momo, homemade, frozen, or otherwise, other [unconventional but delightful] additions and serving suggestions include:

  • Diced avocado
  • Steamed vegetable gyoza or wontons
  • Gnocchi
  • Diced and roasted sweet potato
  • Chickpeas

On really cold days though, I’m happy to just pour it into a thermos and sip this soup all day. It’s soothing, invigorating, and restorative all at once.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments

20 Soup-erb Vegan Soup Recipes

Every season is soup season if you ask me, but January is legitimately designated as National Soup Month. Considering the colder temperatures, it really is the best time to cozy up with a hearty bowlful, be it creamy, brothy, chunky, or otherwise. Just like salads, almost everything can be categorized as “soup” if you try hard enough, so where does the intrepid, undecided cook start?

When you want to get something on the stove without stressing over the best recipe, I’ve got you covered. These are my 20 most popular plant-based soup recipes that are all tried and true. I’ve made each of them scores of times myself, and if you don’t believe me, the glowing comments don’t lie.

Pull out your biggest stock pot and get ready to stew up a double batch. These foolproof formulas will bring you comfort and joy all year long.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)3 Comments

It’s My Party and I’ll Dry If I Want To

When it comes to food preservation, no technique has withstood the test of time quite like drying and dehydration. Used as early as 12,000 BCE, prehistoric people discovered that they could sun-dry seeds to extend their lifespan exponentially. To this day, the very same approach is a perfectly reasonable way to put away fruits and vegetables for later days. The process can even intensify flavors, transforming simple ingredients into entirely new building blocks capable of creating richer eating experiences altogether.

Such is the case for Sugimoto shiitake mushrooms, which gain all of their incredible umami and tanmi qualities through careful dehydration. In the olden days, freshly harvested shiitake were dried over wood or charcoal fires, incorporating a more smoky, woodsy flavor, and also a lot more uncontrollable variation. If the fires burned too hot, the mushrooms would shrivel up, dried to a crisp. Too cold, and the tortuously slow drying process would destroy much of the delicate taste and aroma.

Now employing the best technology in the business, far-infrared drying reduces the moisture content quickly and efficiently while removing any possible insect or microbe content. This is why Sugimoto is the only shiitake mushroom company in the world that has received kosher certification.

Pantry staples that won’t let you down, waiting patiently for their time to shine, are crucial for quick meals, times of scarcity, and outright emergencies. When the winter storm knocked out power for days and water for weeks, you’d better believe I was thanking my lucky stars I had all sorts of dried soups saved away. Beyond just making for an easy, comforting starter, powdered soup mixes can be the catalyst to countless meals. Add a packet to sour cream and you’ve got a bowlful of dip, ready to party. Toss it with cubes of tofu for a flavorful, crispy finish. And of course, rehydrate it with less liquid to make a concentrate, mimicking America’s favorite casserole starter for all sorts of hotdishes.

You can effortlessly make your own instant cream of mushroom soup mix yourself to bypass any dairy or questionable ingredients. Sugimoto dried shiitake powder is the essential base that lays a foundation of incredible savory flavor, blending seamlessly into a creamy almond flour foundation. Ample pieces of chopped shiitake mushrooms add a more satisfying texture, making it a delight to enjoy all by itself. Springing back to life with just a little water and warmth, it’s a deeply soothing, soulful blend that could be the catalyst to many more meals to come.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)6 Comments