Soup's Up

OK, I am now starting to record everything I eat for the next week as according to my dr's instructions.

Today was sliced beef, watercress and mung bean vermicelli soup, leek dumplings and rice for tea. It was quite fabulous even if I do say so myself.  I am just a little worried about the dumplings as they were a made in Taiwan frozen food I bought from NTUC Fairprice.  The Taiwanese like their MSG too.  However, I checked the ingredients list which seems to be all fairly innocent and natural ingredients with no mention of MSG.  Then again, many manufacturers omit that info so we will see what happens to me tonight.  So far, there is no tell-tale sign of unreasonable thirst, swelling, stomach spasms, migraine or nausea so I am thinking it may be safe.  It was quite tasty even if it is no Crystal Jade standard.

Anyway, the soup was ridiculously easy to make and the dumpling even easier.  Heh, since I did not make them!  I kill myself ...

Sliced Beef, Watercress and Mung Bean Vermicelli Soup
About 4 - 5 thin sliced beef (like the sukiyaki beef slices you can get at the supermarket)
1 1/2 cup of watercress, torn coarsely
2 rolls of mung bean vermicelli (I prefer the Japanese ones to Chinese ones because they seem to have better texture and shape)
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
1 clove of garlic, peeled, topped and crushed
Miso paste
Non-MSG beef stock cube
Oil
White pepper
Water

Carcass of roast chicken (I kept the carcass of the roast chicken I had bought before just for the purpose of making stock but if you don't have any, just use more beef stock)


1. Heat the oil and once hot, saute the garlic and onions till transparent and fragrant.


2. Add water and bring to the boil

3. Throw in the chicken carcass if using.  If not, add the beef stock cube and bring to the boil before lowering the heat and simmering for about 20-30 mins. 


4. Remove the chicken carcass and discard.  Season the soup with miso paste and beef stock cubes to taste.  My roast chicken carcass was from a honey-glazed roast chicken so it was plenty sweet but if yours isn't, you could add some mirin to sweeten it.  Or not.  It's really to the individual taste.


5. Bring back to the boil and add the watercress and vermicelli.  Cover and cook for another 8 mins or so till it comes to the boil again.


6. Season with pepper to taste and turn up the heat

7. Place the beef slices on top, trying not to over-lap and cover.


8. Turn off the fire but keep it covered for about 10 mins.


9. Stir the beef slices into the rest of the soup and serve piping hot

This is a really satisfying meal on its own if you add a lot of vermicelli but you could also have it with rice.  I had a small bowl of rice to go with it as well as the dumplings.  Frankly, I should not have bothered.  Rice was total over-kill.

I seem to have a problem calling the leek dumplings ... dumplings.  In my head I keep calling them gyoza.  So forgive me if I lapse.

I love gyoza but have only made them from scratch once.  And that was in Germany because ... well, you could not find them anywhere.  It was not a fantastic success being barely delicious, just a step up from mediocre.

Here in Singapore, there really is no need to make your own since they are everywhere.  But finding non-MSG ones has become a challenge I have not fulfilled.  I think.  The Taiwanese ones I just bought may be the ones but we will see what happens to me after consuming them today.

I used to steam all my dumplings and I never fried them since I dislike oil-laden food.  However, ever since a girlfriend taught me the proper way to cook gyoza, I have never done it any other way.  For those who were like me before, here's how:

1. Take out your frozen gyoza.  You do not even need to thaw them!

2. Heat a pan with oil

3. Lay your dumplings in a single layer without them touching each other if possible.  They tend to stick to each other and if they are poorly made, the skin will tear when you try to tear them apart.

4. Pour 1/2 cup of water into the pan and cover

5. Cook undisturbed (you can give it gentle shake to make sure they are not sticking to the pan but use a non-stick pan so you have less problems!) until the water dries up and the bottoms are nicely golden brown

And you're done!  You can even make your own sauce to go out it.  I did not have any Chinese brown vinegar so I just used balsamic vinegar with non-MSG soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil.  I julienned some ginger and threw them it.

I ate well today and am still feeling fairly good even hours after I ate.  We will see if I suffer any effects from MSG later tonight.

In the meantime, I might have a cheesecupcake and green tea before I call it a night.