Instant Pot “Sake” Special Ramen

Last Wednesday was an unusual day for me. I guess I was feeling adventurous? First I did something different with my hair when I went to the salon. Then I went to our sushi restaurant (Sake Sushi) and did not order sushi. I always get sushi? But this time, I got ramen off of the daily specials. It was a first for me. I have never had real proper ramen, just the cheap packaged ramen. I was really impressed. The broth was creamy looking not clear. And the first bite well it was almost smoky and definitely savory. So good! The bowl was beautiful too, loaded with lots of flavorful toppings; like nori, green onion, fish cake (another first), perfect grilled chicken and a ramen egg. The RAMEN EGG! Oh my gosh! I was so surprised with that savory, salty little egg. It was so good! I can’t wait to go to a ramen house one day. I really loved it! So when I got home I started to do some research.

I started by searching for instant pot recipes. Wait! Did I tell you dear sister bought an instant pot during the Amazon Prime Day sale. She is keeping it at my house. [Smile] So that means I got a new toy. I have been using it more than I thought I would. So look forward to more instant pot recipes in the future. This being the very first. Anyway... I knew I wanted to make the eggs and the broth in the instant pot. I found a few recipes but the broth did not look the same. So I kept searching. In the end, I used a little bit of every ramen recipe I read or watched to make this ramen. I made sure to roast the bones like one recipe said to do. I added chicken bones to mellow the flavor like another recipe suggested. I made sure to brown the onions like another recipe insisted. I added dried mushrooms for umami as one recipe recommended. I made sure to stir the broth breaking up the bones to get that creamy broth rather than a clear liquid. I seasoned the broth with the flavors of Japanese soup base as another blog suggest. I used mirin, tamari, and instant dashi for the kombu and bonito flavors. It turned out so good! Very close to the inspiration ramen I had at Sake Sushi. I even made the ramen egg too. I need to work on my technique with this one. The flavor is spot on but as you will see in the photos the shape and color was uneven. I made the mistake of putting something on top to weight it down in the marinade. So one side was squished and had less color and therefore flavor. Don't weight it down! I have four in the frig right now secured with a rubber band and hanging from a chopstick across a plastic container. I feel this is going to turn out much better. My favorite parts of this ramen is the broth, ramen egg and chicken; in that order. I think you should definitely make sure to put those ingredients in your bowl. Maybe add some green onion, not too much just a little sprinkle. The chicken was a surprise to me too. The mirin really added to the color and grill marks. I have never had grilled chicken turn out that attractive. I may start adding mirin to more marinades.

This whole experience was a lot of fun. I made six - two cup containers of ramen broth. I put three in the freezer right away. So now I have it just waiting on me to have a craving. This was time consuming not instant as the title might suggest. But the instant pot was an invaluable tool to the process. It let me develop great flavor in less time and really made the broth spectacular. I see myself doing this again real soon. I hope you give it a try. If you have instant pot or ramen tips for me please comment. I would love to hear about your successes too.

Instant Pot “Sake” Special Ramen

Makes 12 cups of broth; 6 servings

Ingredients

For ramen eggs:

3 eggs

3 Tbsp. reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce)

3 Tbsp. mirin

9 Tbsp. water

For broth:

2 to 3 lbs. pork neck bones

1 to 2 frozen rotisserie chicken carcasses

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced

3” piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

2 large cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

4 green onions, whole

3 dried black mushrooms

5 Tbsp. reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce)

2 Tbsp. mirin

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. miso paste

1 tsp. instant dashi granules

For grilled chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast

Reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce)

Mirin

Sesame oil

Black pepper

For ramen bowl:

6 servings Ramen noodles, boiled to package directions

Ramen broth

For toppings:

Ramen eggs, halved

Fish cake or imitation crab, sliced

Toasted nori

Grilled chicken, sliced

3 green onions, sliced

Mushrooms, reserved from broth and sliced

Directions

Ramen eggs:

Combine tamari, mirin and water in a plastic bag. Set aside.

Place steam rack inside the pressure cooker. Add exactly 1 cup of cool tap water into the pot. Place eggs straight from the refrigerator in the center of the pot. Cook at Low Pressure for 5 minutes*, then quick release (QR).

After quick release, immediately take out the eggs and soak in ice bath to stop them from cooking. Let them cool for 5 minutes or longer.

Gently peel the eggs. Put the eggs in the sauce bag and close tightly. The eggs should be submerged in the marinade. Marinate for at least 3-4 hours in the refrigerator. I recommend overnight.

Take the eggs out of the marinade and discard the marinade. Cut each egg in half to serve. Enjoy the eggs as is or place them in your ramen bowl as a topping.

*Note: Want to know how to cook the eggs just like you like them. [Click Here] to learn how to cook soft, medium or hard boiled eggs in your pressure cooker.

Ramen broth:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place pork neck bones in a roasting pan, season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, flip bones over and roast 30 minutes.

In the last few minutes of cooking time, place instant pot on saute. Add canola oil and sliced onion. Cook the onions until brown on one side then flip to brown on the other side. Stir to separate into rings and brown evenly. Turn off and add a little water if necessary to prevent burning.

When pork has finished roasting, transfer the bones to instant pot with the onions.  Immediately pour off fat and discard. Add 1-1/2 cups of the water to the pan, and use a spoon to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the pan drippings to instant pot with the onions. Add chicken bones, ginger, garlic, green onions, and mushrooms. Add cool water to the max fill line. Set the instant pot to cook under high pressure for 30 minutes. When cycle is complete let rest 5 minutes and perform a quick release. Stir the pot really well. Scraping the bottom of the pot and breaking up bones. Set the instant pot to cook under high pressure for another 30 minutes. When cycle is complete let rest 5 minutes and perform a quick release. Stir the pot really well again, breaking up bones some more. Place the instant pot to saute and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes or longer. Turn off if broth begin to splash over the edge of the pot liner.

Let the liquid cool for a little while. Reserve the mushrooms and set aside. Remove the other solids and discard, then strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer, and transferring the liquid to another container. Clean the liner of the instant pot and pour broth back into pot. Season broth with tamari, mirin, sesame oil, miso and dashi. Keep warm and allow flavors to blend.

Serve the broth, refrigerate overnight and remove the fat cap (if you prefer) before re-heating or freeze for your future bowls of ramen.

Grilled chicken:

Place chicken breast in a freezer bag pound to even out thickness. Season chicken with black pepper, a drizzle of sesame oil and equal parts tamari and mirin to cover chicken. Marinate 20 minutes at room temperature, flipping and moving around in the marinade at least once half way through marinating time.

Preheat grill for 10 minutes, lower heat to medium high. Remove chicken from marinade and grill chicken for 6 minutes, flip chicken and grill for 6 more minutes or until internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached. Remove from grill and rest at least 10 minutes before slicing. Slice chicken for use as a topping.

Ramen bowl:

To assemble the ramen, cook the noodles (discarding any flavor packets), according to package instructions.

Divide the noodles between bowls. Pour the hot broth directly over the noodles, then add whatever toppings you desire. Serve immediately.

Linking to:
Kahakai Kitchen: Souper Sundays

Thai Coconut Vegetable Soup

The other day I was at the store picking up the ingredients to make a pot of Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup. I was reaching for bamboo shoots when I saw the coconut milk. That is when the wheels started turning, what if I added coconut milk to the soup? I got both and I just kept thinking. By the time I got home I had decided that adding coconut milk would make the soup more Thai style. So I did some research. Most of the soup recipes I saw included ginger, lemon grass, fish sauce, herbs (basil or cilantro), chili paste, and coconut milk. Well I did not have lemon grass but I had everything else. So I went for it. I think it turned out amazing. I used a combination of lemon and lime juice to compensate for the lemon grass. I would not call the soup authentic at all but it was surely delicious. I did keep the simple cooking method or the Hot and Sour Soup. It is pretty much a dump and stir recipe. Ready in 10 minutes. I loved all the Thai flavors of curry, fish sauce and ginger. I think next time I may peel and slice the ginger in thin threads. I think I would enjoy leaving it in the finished soup. I loved the creaminess of the coconut milk too. It really balanced all the red curry heat. This is another great soup option. I see making it again soon.

Thai Coconut Vegetable Soup

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Coconut oil spray

1/4 cup onions, diced

4 slices fresh ginger

1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped plus more for garnish

4 cups unsalted chicken stock

16 oz. package frozen stir fry vegetables (I used a sugar snap blend with carrots and mushrooms)

1 cup sliced mushrooms(I used reconstituted Shiitake, stem removed)

2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

2 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 – 2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tomato, seeded and cut into strips

13.66 oz. can lite coconut milk

1 green onion, sliced

1 jalapeno, sliced

Lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Spray a soup pot with coconut oil, sauté onions, ginger and 1 Tbsp. cilantro over medium high heat. When onions begin to soften add chicken stock. Bring chicken broth to a boil, add frozen veggies, mushrooms and turn off heat. Add remaining ingredients except jalapeno, remaining cilantro and lime wedges; stir to blend. Remove ginger slices. Serve garnished with jalapeno slices, additional cilantro and a lime wedge.

Edamame Broth Bowl

Dear sister is to thank for this delicious recipe. She was the one who introduced me to the Broth Bowls at Panera Bread. They were so good! It inspired me to try to make them at home. I looked at the ingredient list and just experimented with the quantities. The mushroom mixture was very easy. The broth relatively easy too. It just needs time to infuse the garlic and ginger into the broth. I also thought that straight veggie broth was too much. I like thinning it out with a little water. It was lighter and let the garlic, ginger and miso to be more prominent. The edamame blend however was a little more challenging. I wanted the smoky fire roasted flavor but it really dries out the edamame. I found that if you cook the edamame first and broil to get the fire roasted dark bits they are not as tough. I also found placing them hot from the broiler into a bowl and covering them helps them steam a little bit. I have made both the chicken broth bowl and the edamame broth bowl now. I find the edamame broth bowl has a wonderful smoky flavor. Just delicious! They are so easy and you could definitely make as a make ahead meal. Just make all the components one day and assemble and re-heat the next. Or take it for lunch. The leftovers re-heat well. I will definitely be making these bowls over and over again. Next time I will make the chicken version and share the Thai Seasoning Blend I made with you. So check back soon. In the meantime enjoy this make at home copycat meal. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did.

Edamame Broth Bowl

Makes 4 large servings

Ingredients

12 to 16 oz. bag frozen edamame

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 small carrot, julienned or small dice

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil (divided)
kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

1 small onion, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced (divided)

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

4 cups unsalted vegetable broth

2 cups water

1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp. low sodium Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seed oil

1 Tbsp. garlic chili sauce

2 Tbsp. miso paste (I used a mixed style)
8 oz. dry soba noodles (or 4 min. Chinese egg noodles)

2 cups baby spinach

1 cup coleslaw mix

1/2 head of radicchio, shredded

4 to 6 Tbsp. cilantro, torn
Sesame seeds to garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the edamame, carrot, red pepper and 1 clove minced garlic in a microwave safe dish. Microwave cover on high for 4 minutes. Let stand 3 minutes; add 1 tsp. olive oil, salt and peppers then pour out onto a large baking sheet. Set oven to broil. Place on the middle rack of the oven and broil for 10 to 12 minutes, just until the edamame begins to brown. Remove from the oven, place in a bowl and cover. Set aside until ready to assemble bowls.

Add 2 tsp. olive oil to a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, sauté’ until onion begins to get translucent. Add sliced mushrooms continue to sauté until mushrooms are soft and begin to brown. Season with salt and peppers and remove from pot and set aside.

Add more olive oil to the pot if necessary; add remaining 2 cloves minced garlic and ginger, sauté until fragrant. Add broth, water, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce simmer on low for 30 minutes. Mean while prepare noodles to package directions. Remove broth from heat and whisk in sesame oil, garlic chili sauce and miso paste.

To serve add a few spinach leaves to 4 large bowls, add some coleslaw, radicchio and 1/4 of the prepared soba noodles. Then add steaming broth over the top. Garnish with 1/4 of the mushrooms, edamame mixture, cilantro and sesame seeds. Serve with a soup spoon and chop sticks.

Linking to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

The Diary of a Real Housewife: Friday Favorites

Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Ms. en Place: See Ya in the Gumbo

Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?

Anyonita Nibbles: #tastytuesdays

Back to the Basics: Tuesdays with a Twist

Dizzy, Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky

Creative K Kids: The Ultimate Party on Google+

Memories By The Mile: Treasure Box Tuesday

Thai Turkey Spaghetti Squash

I mentioned in the past that I have been experimenting with turning my Pork Noodle Salad recipe into a spaghetti squash dish. Well I have made it several times and I think I have settle on the final recipe. My struggles have been with the dressing and seasoning of the squash strands. I wanted them to have flavor but not be swimming in the dressing. I tried to use less dressing but then the squash was bland. The trick is to make the squash first, dress it with the dressing and set aside while everything else is prepared. That way the flavor has time to absorb into the squash. Then when serving try to drain as much of the dressing out as possible. It is delicious! I have made it with both turkey and pork, both are great. The meat has a spicy lightly sweet sauce. I love the combination of the hoisin and garlic chili paste in the sauce. This dish has all the flavor and texture of the original dish. In this case the spaghetti squash is a great substitute for rice noodles. I love all the fresh Thai garnishes too. You just can't beat the cilantro and onions with the savory, spicy, sweet, and tart flavors.

Thai Turkey Spaghetti Squash

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 spaghetti squash

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. water

1 Tbsp. fish sauce

1/2 cup red onion, sliced

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce

1 tsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1/2 tsp. garlic, minced

1 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. garlic chili paste

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey (or pork)

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped

Directions

To prepare spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place cut side down in a microwave safe dish, add 1/4 cup of water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes (You may have to do each half separately, I do). When squash is cool enough to handle, pull the squash into spaghetti like threads.

In a small bowl prepare the dressing, combine the 1/4 cup vinegar and next 4 ingredients (through fish sauce) pour over squash strands toss well. Top with some of the red onion, green onions and cilantro, toss again and set aside.

Combine hoisin and next 5 ingredients (through garlic chili paste). Heat oil in a skillet, brown turkey seasoning evenly with salt and black pepper. Add hoisin mixture; continue to cook until well combined. Using a slotted spoon, divide squash into four bowls (or return to the squash shells) and top with turkey mixture. Garnish each bowl with more of the red onion, green onions, cilantro, and peanuts.

Linking to:
Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Coriander, chervil & chives
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Asian Style Vegetable Soup

In the pursuit of low sodium recipes for my family I have found soups a little difficult. Of the five recipes I tried, two were a disaster and three were great. This one falls in the great category. It is a little dark in color for my taste but so delicious who cares what it looks like. I may try chicken stock next time? Or make my own veggie stock. We will see? This soup has a wonderful sweet flavor. But my absolute favorite thing about it is the sesame oil. It is so different and rich tasting. I tried it with added salt, some low sodium soy sauce and even Sriracha. But honestly it is great as is. No need for those extras, but they are delicious too if you just need variety. This is truly a delicious healthy soup.

Asian Style Vegetable Soup
Serves 12; generous 1 cup serving

Ingredients

14 dried shiitake mushrooms (or substitute fresh shiitake mushrooms)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1” ginger, peeled and minced
6 green onions, divided and sliced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
6 cups Napa or Savoy cabbage, chopped
8 cups unsalted vegetable stock
1/4 tsp white pepper, or to taste
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 cups baby spinach leaves
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. Sherry vinegar

Optional garnishes:
Sriracha

Directions

If using dried mushrooms, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and reserve soaking liquid. Cut or discard the stems from the shiitake mushrooms. Thinly slice the mushroom caps and add to a soup pot. Add garlic, ginger, 4 green onions, carrots, corn and cabbage. Cover vegetables with vegetable stock and mushroom soaking liquid. Be careful not to add the sediment at the bottom of the mushroom liquid. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Turn off heat add spinach, sesame oil and sherry vinegar. Serve garnished with remaining green onion.

Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist

Peach Drop Biscuits

Drop Biscuit experiment number two, no wait? Number three? First there was Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits. Second Blueberry Drop Biscuits and now Peach Drop Biscuits. Of the three this has to be the most aromatic of them all. You can smell the ginger and cinnamon the minute the batter is stirred together. It really fills the house with warm baking aromas when it is in the oven. I loved the little specks of cinnamon in the biscuit, really pretty. The ginger and cinnamon were great with the peaches too. I used a firm under ripe white peach. White peaches were a better deal at the store. In my humble opinion it was a little sweeter than the yellow peaches I have had in the past.

About now you must be wondering why does this girl keep making only two biscuits? Well...the simple answer is I will eat too many biscuits if I cook more! So if you are cooking for the family just double, triple or quadruple the recipe. I know the base recipe works that way. The only ingredient I would be careful with is the ginger. I do plan to make a large batch to share with my family soon. I will let you know about the ginger amount then. That being said there is not one ingredient in the recipe that over powers the others. It is really well balanced. The texture is a little more cake like than the other recipes, but that is not a bad thing. I really enjoyed this experiment too. I can't wait to try it with yellow peaches next. Ed Lester Farms has more and more peaches every time I visit. I see a peach pie in my future too.

Peach Drop Biscuits

Makes 2 biscuits

Ingredients

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

2 Tbsp. + 1-1/2 tsp. milk (2% works fine)

4 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt (table salt not kosher)

4 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh peaches, diced (I used a white peach)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine liquid ingredients, ginger, milk, oil and set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Add peaches and toss in the flour. Add oil and milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Drop large spoonfuls on ungreased baking sheet, forming 2 biscuits. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

Linking to:
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Creative K Kids: Tasty Tuesdays
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

California Roll Salad

I guess technically this could be considered a rice bowl or a salad. I just know it is delicious. I first saw this type of salad on the Weight Watchers recipe review board. I have seen many more recipes since then, everyone uniquely different. I have been making it my way, just for one a few years now. I have made it with both brown and white rice, both are great. I think my favorite part is the pickled ginger and cucumber. I just love that flavor combination. Just think of all the sushi combinations you could create into other salads. Switch the crab sticks for spicy tuna or salmon and you have another fresh exciting salad. This is a very fresh, cool meal for summer. I should know I have made two in the past two days. YUM! Time to make more rice.

California Roll Salad

Serves 1

Ingredients

1/2 cup pre-cooked or leftover rice

1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar

1-1/2 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce

1/4 tsp wasabi powder

1-1/2 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks

2-1/2" piece of English cucumber, cut into matchsticks

2 imitation crab sticks, sliced on the diagonal

1/2 medium avocado, sliced

1 Tbsp. pickled sliced ginger

2”x3” piece of toasted nori seaweed, julienned with scissors

1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions

Warm rice in the microwave for 1 minute. Mix vinegar and sugar together. Pour half of the vinegar and sugar mixture over rice. Stir to combine and fluff with a fork. Stir in soy sauce and wasabi powder to remaining vinegar mixture to make a dressing. Fill a salad bowl with lettuce, rice, carrots, cucumber, crab, avocado and ginger. Pour dressing over the top and garnish with nori and sesame seeds.

Linking to:
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Lori's Culinary Creations: Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday
Carole's Chatter: Food on Fridays - Cucumber
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
My Pinterventures: Summer Salads Party

Green Beans in Garlic Black Bean Sauce

These are not just any green beans, these are Italian snap beans. They are large flat beans that I brought home from Ed Lester Farms. I snapped the stems off and blanched them, at that point they really made a great snack. I would love to try them in a veggie dip next time. This week I used them in an Oriental style stir-fry. I have had a similar green bean dish on a Chinese buffet. So I wanted to try to make something similar. I was so thrilled with the way this recipe turned out. I absolutely love the savory sausage with the green beans. Dear sister loved it too. I will definitely try it again with other varieties of green beans too. I really enjoyed the flavor of the black bean sauce. It was salty and savory too. But be careful with this ingredient, it can be really salty if you use to much. I can't wait to try it in other recipes. I just may have to go back to the farm again this week to get more beans.

Green Beans in Garlic Black Bean Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

1-1/2 lbs. Italian green beans, stems removed

1 tsp. canola oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

5 oz. reduced fat breakfast sausage

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2" piece of ginger finely minced

3 green onions, sliced white parts separated from green parts

1 tablespoon black bean sauce

1 tsp. garlic chili paste

1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add green beans and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove and place in ice water to stop cooking. Drain and set aside.

Place a wok over medium high heat, add the canola and sesame oil. Add the sausage, stir-fry breaking up the sausage until it is fully cooked. Add the garlic, ginger and the white part of the green onions. Stir-fry until fragrant, and then add the green beans.  Stir-fry a minute longer, then add the black bean sauce, garlic chili paste and soy sauce. Continue to stir-fry until well combined and beans are warm. Serve garnished with the sliced green onion tops.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See You in the Gumbo
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Lori's Culinary Creations: Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday

5 Spice Sausage Tortellini Soup

The idea to combine 5 spice and tortellini came to me after making Sausage and Peppers Tortellini Soup. The flavor of fennel was so good with the sausage tortellini. I just knew 5 spice with the flavors of star anise, fennel, cinnamon, clove and pepper would be delicious too. This soup was never conceived to be "fusion" cuisine, but it turned out that way. If you like tortellini, pho or french onion soup; there is something in this soup for you. I set out to infuse the broth with onions and ginger like traditional pho; then garnish like pho. But I wanted this to be a quick one pot meal and did not want to strain the broth. That is when this broth started to remind me of french onion soup. The onions really add sweetness to this soup. But all in all, I think the pho inspiration wins out. I went whole hog on the garnishes. I used them all. I love the fresh herbs and lime. I even love how my hands smell "herby" fresh from handling them. I also like how the hoisin supports the 5 spice flavor. Don't forget the spicy sriracha! I love it, but if it's not for you just leave it out. The point of this soup is customization. Add what you like or don't add a thing, it was really good plain right from the pot. Just try it for a quick dinner soup.

One more thing this soup is like all the other tortellini soups, they are great leftovers. The flavor seems to blend and really infuse the tortellini by the next day!

5 Spice Sausage Tortellini Soup

Servings:  4 to 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 small onion, sliced into half moons

1-1/2 inch chunk of ginger, peeled and minced

1-1/2 tsp. 5 spice powder

6 cups beef stock

1-1/2 Tbsp. sugar

1-1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce

5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

9 oz. package sausage tortellini

Garnishes:

Cilantro tops – leaves and tender stems

Basil leaves

Mint leaves

2 green onions, sliced

1/3 cup shaved red onions

1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

1 jalapeno, sliced

Sriracha sauce

Hoisin sauce

Directions

Heat oil in a 3-1/2 qt Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and ginger, saute stirring occasionally until they begin to brown. Stir in 5 spice powder and add broth deglazing the pot. Add sugar, fish sauce, and cilantro; bring to a boil. Add tortellini and mushrooms, reduce heat and simmer 9 minutes or according to package directions. To serve place tortellini and broth in each bowl. Let each person add their choice of garnishes.

Linking to:
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky