Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [95]
Pour the entire contents of the skillet into a large food processor; add the ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process until coarsely ground and pastelike. Set aside.
Heat a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Swirl in the remaining tablespoon oil, then add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the spice mixture; cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds.
Add the beef; cook until browned, turning once or twice, about 2 minutes.
Pour in the broth and coconut milk; bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits on the pan’s bottom. Add the lemongrass, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beef is very tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove and discard the lemongrass. Stir in the green beans and the tamarind paste, pomegranate molasses, or red currant jelly until smooth. Cover and set aside off the heat for 5 minutes.
Variations: Add 2 cups cooked white or brown rice or 8 ounces rice noodles, cooked and drained, with the tamarind paste.
Garnish the soup with chopped, peeled, pitted mango, yogurt, or crème fraîche.
For a quicker dish, omit all the spices and aromatics (even the lemongrass); substitute up to 1 tablespoon masaman curry paste or hot red Thai curry paste, often available in East Indian markets, adding it in step 3.
Vietnamese-Inspired Spiced Pork Soup
Here’s a simplified approach to a traditional Vietnamese soup. Makes 6 servings
8 cups (2 quarts) chicken broth
8 scallions, halved lengthwise
Four ¼-inch-thick disks peeled fresh ginger
One 4-inch cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
4 allspice berries
1 star anise pod
8 ounces pork loin, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
¼ cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for garnish
3 cups mung bean sprouts
½ cup chopped mint leaves
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon lime juice
Bring the broth, scallions, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, and star anise to a simmer in a large pot set over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to very low, and simmer slowly for 1 hour.
Remove and discard the aromatics, using a small strainer or a slotted spoon. Add the pork, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and pepper; bring back to a simmer over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer slowly until the pork is tender, about 30 minutes.
Stir in the bean sprouts, mint, cilantro, and lime juice just before serving. Sprinkle each serving with ground black pepper for garnish.
Variations: Add 3 dried red Asian chiles with the ginger; remove and discard them with the other aromatics.
Substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips, for the pork; simmer for only 15 minutes.
Substitute firm or silken-firm tofu for the pork; simmer for only 5 minutes.
Lamb and Wild Rice Soup
In traditional Irish soups, the lamb is not browned before being added to the soup. Without a caramelized crust, the lamb becomes velvety and luxurious. If you can’t find lamb shoulder, use lamb stew meat. Wild rice adds an earthy, grassy taste, a fine foil for the lamb and little more sophisticated than white rice. Makes 8 servings
10 cups (2½ quarts) beef, chicken, or vegetable broth
2 pounds lamb shoulder meat, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 2-inch cubes
1½ cups wild rice
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons stemmed thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Place the broth and lamb in a large saucepan or soup pot, set over high heat, and bring to a full simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer slowly until the lamb is nearly tender, skimming any fat or impurities from the top of the soup as necessary, about 1 hour.
Add the wild rice, return to