Make sense of soup with this easy-to-do recipe
Lawrence Zafra
Soup encompasses borders and cultures. It differs in taste, texture, and function. In the Western world, a person’s dining experience is never complete without a soup dish. It goes hand in hand with the appetizer in preparing one’s palate for the greater, more flavorful experience of the main course.
Soup may come in the form of a consommé – a rich, clear, fat free soup traditionally made from
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| spare rib soup | | roasted beef, chicken, fish, or game flavored with brown wine (port, Madeira, Marsala, or brandy). It is regarded as the highest form of soup in the French cuisine.
Soup may also come as bisque – a thick, flavorful soup usually made from a selection of fresh seafood and vegetables, enhanced with an assortment of herbs and spices. The type of soup used depends on the menu prepared because the flavor and consistency of soup must always be compatible with the main course.
In the Asian setting, particularly in the regions of China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, soup has a different story. It is usually served either as an accompaniment to the main dish (family style) or as a full meal in itself. The most popular example of this is the noodle soup – translated to ramen in Japan, pho bo in Vietnam, wonton egg noodle in China, laksa in Malaysia, khao soi gai in Thailand, and la paz batchoy in the Philippines. All contain meat, starch, vegetables, and herbs which supply the body with essential proteins, carbohydrates, and nutrients.
The simplest form of soup may be done by boiling water, meat or seafood, and vegetables such as onions, carrots, celery, and seasoning it with salt and pepper. To achieve a richer flavor, certain techniques may be used like sautéing and browning the ingredients to caramelize and bring out the natural sugars. Herbs and spices such as cilantro, thyme, rosemary, sage, paprika, nutmeg, and anise, among others, may also be introduced. The selection of ingredients used in making soup depends on the profile you want to attain.
(Photos by Pinggot Zulueta)
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Recipe: Romatic Spare Rib Soup
Ingredients
500 g pork spareribs 2Tbsp ginger, sliced 1 Tbsp red onions, sliced
1 sachet sibut
1 cup fresh baby corn
2 pcs potato
3 stems leeks
2 cups Chinese cabbage, sliced
4 pcs shiitake mushrooms
4 cups water
1 cup cooking oil
black pepper
Thai patis
salt
Procedure
Step 1. Fry the pork spareribs. Set aside.
Step 2. In a stock pot, boil water, ginger, onions, sibut, leeks, shitake mushrooms. Add fried pork spareribs then continue boiling until tender.
Step 3. Add baby corn and potato. When potato is cooked add Chinese cabbage. Season with Thai patis, salt, and black pepper.
Option: The soup may be thickened with cornstarch slurry (1 part cornstarch to 2 parts water).
Chef’s note: Sibut is a mix of herbs and bark, and can be bought in a Chinese specialty grocery or drugstore.
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