Being great fans of Asian food, noodle soups play big role in our diet. They're filling, fairly low in calories, nutritious and delicious. They're also very versatile, lending themselves to using up whatever you might have on hand.
Yesterday a mate of mine bagged a good haul of fish, just off Dunk Island. He dropped by to give us some, before taking away the fish frames for disposal.
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| The beginnings of soup |
"Not so fast!" I said. "I'll have those."
So was stock making time it was.
One of the frames was a large Spanish Mackerel. He had ripped off the fillets, leaving a significant amount of meat on the frame. I instantly saw a delicious soup!
1 Spanish Mackerel Frame (Free)
(Now of course this can easily be substituted with other fish or chicken frames)
1 small onion (20c)
Fresh Ginger (5 cm piece peeled and minced) (20c)
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
5 whole star anise
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
(You might notice that I just rattled off 5 spices - well there you go: five spice. total cost under 20c)
A bunch of Mustard Greens (or any Asian greens, spinach, broccoli etc) ($2)
4 hard boiled eggs ($1.20)
1 pack of vermicelli rice noodles ($1.50)
Chili to your own preference
Salt
Peanut oil
So, I cut the frame into 3 pieces so that it would fit in the pot, then chucked in the chopped onion with 4 tablespoons of peanut oil and 4 teaspoons of salt. Everything was then fried until the fish had a good bit of colour on it.
I slowly added 2L of water, maintaining a simmer. Once all of the water was added, the stock was left to simmer for around 20 minutes, skimming occasionally.
After 20 minutes, I removed the fish frame, took all the meat off it and set it aside. The stock was strained and also put aside. I fried the spices in a splash of oil in the bottom of the pot, then added about 500ml of the stock to it. The lid was put onto the pot and it was left to simmer for another hour to extract the flavour from the spices.
After an hour, the remaining stock was added to the spices gradually to keep the simmer going. Once it was all added and simmering away, the glass noodles and mustard greens were added and simmered for around 2 minutes, until the noodles were ready. Soft and pliable, but still with a little crunch.
In went the fish that was taken from the frame, followed by the 4 sliced hard boiled eggs. The salt was adjusted to taste.
There are all sorts of flavours that can be added in moderation to adjust the flavour: hoi sin, oyster sauce, Shao Xhing wine, soy sauce etc. You might also like to sprinkle some dried shallot on the top.
There are great benefits to making your own Asian style noodle soups. They are very cheap to make, quite nutritious, they're easy, you can use by-products such as fish or chicken frames and you'll never have to buy this:
One of the frames was a large Spanish Mackerel. He had ripped off the fillets, leaving a significant amount of meat on the frame. I instantly saw a delicious soup!
 |
| Who needs a Webber Q? |
1 Spanish Mackerel Frame (Free)
(Now of course this can easily be substituted with other fish or chicken frames)
1 small onion (20c)
Fresh Ginger (5 cm piece peeled and minced) (20c)
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
5 whole star anise
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
(You might notice that I just rattled off 5 spices - well there you go: five spice. total cost under 20c)
A bunch of Mustard Greens (or any Asian greens, spinach, broccoli etc) ($2)
4 hard boiled eggs ($1.20)
1 pack of vermicelli rice noodles ($1.50)
Chili to your own preference
Salt
Peanut oil
So, I cut the frame into 3 pieces so that it would fit in the pot, then chucked in the chopped onion with 4 tablespoons of peanut oil and 4 teaspoons of salt. Everything was then fried until the fish had a good bit of colour on it.
I slowly added 2L of water, maintaining a simmer. Once all of the water was added, the stock was left to simmer for around 20 minutes, skimming occasionally.
After 20 minutes, I removed the fish frame, took all the meat off it and set it aside. The stock was strained and also put aside. I fried the spices in a splash of oil in the bottom of the pot, then added about 500ml of the stock to it. The lid was put onto the pot and it was left to simmer for another hour to extract the flavour from the spices.
After an hour, the remaining stock was added to the spices gradually to keep the simmer going. Once it was all added and simmering away, the glass noodles and mustard greens were added and simmered for around 2 minutes, until the noodles were ready. Soft and pliable, but still with a little crunch.
In went the fish that was taken from the frame, followed by the 4 sliced hard boiled eggs. The salt was adjusted to taste.
There are all sorts of flavours that can be added in moderation to adjust the flavour: hoi sin, oyster sauce, Shao Xhing wine, soy sauce etc. You might also like to sprinkle some dried shallot on the top.
There are great benefits to making your own Asian style noodle soups. They are very cheap to make, quite nutritious, they're easy, you can use by-products such as fish or chicken frames and you'll never have to buy this:
 |
| Instant Japanese Delicacy |
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