Chicken noodle soup

Found this in the freezer. There's more too, I think. That's the benefit of either planning ahead or of making too much. 

Asian chicken noodle soup

Basil nipped off a terrace plant while bringing in strawberries from the weather. Whatever ends up on the menu tonight will have basil. Ingredients pulled from the refrigerator. At this point it is not known what will become of them.

It can be anything. I'm hungry.

So what makes it Asian?

Secret magical ingredients, distinctly Asian in combination, not shown.

What secret ingredients?

Ginger, garlic, fish sauce, homemade chicken broth, mirin, sake, soy sauce. 

Those are not secret, nor are they magical. 

They're not? I thought they were. 

Chicken soup from bones

These are mostly femur bones from chickens, if chickens have femurs, the large bone in chicken thighs. They are crushed with pliers, and I usually do not do this much bone crushing.

The bones are roasted. On high. To impart layers of flavor that would be absent without it.

Old bay, and not a good thing either. I'm tired of fishing out little broken pieces to use, so out with it.

I must say, this is so good with my own bread, it doubles the goodness. This bread has more character to it than official sourdough loaves that I purchased from stores. They usually disappoint me when I bother, and this bread beats those.

Also, this is chicken broth, not chicken stock. All that bay, salt, coriander seed, mustard seed, fennel seed, black pepper seed, an entire garlic bulb cut in two, and a whole onion sliced in two, the end of a celery bunch, and a couple of carrots, so a full on chicken broth thoroughly flavored.

I tested it for adjustments.

No adjustments necessary, except possibly water because this broth is not light.  

So naturally I added heavy cream to finish.

A portion of the potato is blended. 

You don't find soup like this, you just don't.

Chicken soup, avocado and tomato, angel hair pasta

There once was a restaurant  in Denver called Mama Elena's that was located on the North side of East Colfax in a small place that drew a lot of attention somehow. They served simple Mexican style dinners but they were not ordinary. Most meals started out with a clear chicken broth with a flavor so authentic it blew you away that something so simple can be that amazing. And sitting on the bottom would be a single slice of avocado and small piece of tomato and I think that was just about it, maybe a single leaf of cilantro. Rather Japanese in presentation, actually.

I naturally tend to emulate that, and hold it in mind as model.

Except different. On account of being a growing man and everything. 

I mean, come on, really? A single leaf, really? That's all well and good for artistic purposes if you're dilly dallying with delicate touches but Homey don't play dat. 

BLAM.

Mine turn out differently.

But where did the chicken come from? 

It was roasted earlier. You can get out of that by buying them already roasted. They're always quite good too. The ones I've had were.

But why is your broth so dark?

It uses the fat and the gunk and the doubly-roasted bones of the carcass, it has the liver and gizzard, and heart. It is also darkened with coriander powder and cumin that was started in the fat. It's quite rich with melted aspic.

Chicken soup

The ingredients are common and so are the techniques, still, because this soup is extemporaneous and by whim and with ingredients on hand it is a one-time thing on planet Earth.

Chicken thigh from roasted chicken shown earlier here.

* Homemade chicken stock, aspic and fat, along with additional commercial chicken stock

* soy sauce

* fish sauce

* white wine

* chile flakes

* 1/2 teaspoon sugar or something sweet, if you like, it will round out the profile.

Chicken soup

Great Northern beans, how presumptuous.

You know what's better than Great Northern beans? Cannellini beans, that's what. Problem is, they don't sell dry cannellini beans in my local grocery stores. Although sometimes canned can be found. In the fer'ner section. Goya.

Pressure cooked. For speed of preparation.

Prepared Asian slaw and angel hair pasta and leftover diced potato and leftover chicken bits and stock from this previously roasted chicken.

See how it's building to something spectacular? 

Frozen peas for green dots.

Roasted chicken is better than boiled chicken. On account of Maillard. 

The thing about us insouciant cavalier baker-types is we produce dumplings and such without even thinking about it, or as an afterthought. We reach here and reach there and blam there you go, a biscuit batter. Because of our bread-knowledge. After you cook it a hundred ways then something basic and unchallenging as biscuit batter is just flat not even trying. 

* flour

* salt of course, duh

* fat, whatever you have there on hand, butter of course, bacon fat etc.

* baking powder, it's the thing that makes it go puffffff.

* milk

What if you don't have baking powder? 

        Then baking soda and acid, like buttermilk or vinegar or cream of tartar

And what if you don't have those either?

Then egg.

And what if you don't have an egg?

Then cold butter for puff. 

What if you don't have baking power, baking soda, egg, or butter?

Then what are doing trying to make a biscuit? 

With an ordinary dinner knife, whip whip whip whip whip these simple bread ingredients and done, two spoons to deposit thick batter on top of simmering soup. 

So satisfying even with not so Great White Northern beans.