Vietnamese Daikon Soup
Tasty Tasty Comfort Food. What, you mean it isn't what your mom cooked for your when you weren't feeling well?
Ingredients:
2-4 daikon radishes peeled and cubed (about 2.5 lbs)
3-4 medium carrots peeled cut into medium sized chunks
1 small to medium sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks
1 1/2-thumb-sized piece of ginger crushed
3-4 cups of chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1-2 Tbs fish sauce (I prefer the 3 crabs brand)
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sugar or splenda
1 medium onion: half diced very finely, half in larger chunks
Olive oil
Start off by putting a few glugs of olive oil into a non-stick small sauce pan. Bring it to medium-highy heat and add the finely diced onion to it. You want to do a quick browning of it, don't be afraid to bring it to a dark carmel. You will need enough oil to keep the onions well lubricated or they won't brown properly.
Fish the onions out of the oil (using some of the oil is good but we don't want an oil slick in our soup). Discard the extra oil (save it, it is great for marinades etc). Add a small bit of the oil and all of the browned onions to a large soup pot. Add all the veg and broth and and 1 cup of the water and bring to a boil until the veg just start getting soft. Start with 1Tbs fish sauce and a few grinds of black pepper and cook it for a few minutes and then taste it before you add more. For anyone that hasn't worked much with fish sauce, it has a pungent smell and the taste of it changes pretty drastically with cooking. Wait to add sugar till the end as the veg will have a lot of natural sweetness. If you've made it too salty, add the extra water.
Feel free to add chicken to this dish. It is also perfectly fine to omit the carrots and sweet potato. This dish is often served with only daikon.
I always love serving this dish over some freshly cooked rice. Nom! Also, fresh cut scallions, lime, and or cilantro are great additions to the dish. If you feel you need a little more umami or it isn't salty enough, try a tiny bit of soy sauce (Golden Mountain is my favorite brand).
Ingredients:
2-4 daikon radishes peeled and cubed (about 2.5 lbs)
3-4 medium carrots peeled cut into medium sized chunks
1 small to medium sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks
1 1/2-thumb-sized piece of ginger crushed
3-4 cups of chicken broth
1-2 cups of water
1-2 Tbs fish sauce (I prefer the 3 crabs brand)
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp sugar or splenda
1 medium onion: half diced very finely, half in larger chunks
Olive oil
Start off by putting a few glugs of olive oil into a non-stick small sauce pan. Bring it to medium-highy heat and add the finely diced onion to it. You want to do a quick browning of it, don't be afraid to bring it to a dark carmel. You will need enough oil to keep the onions well lubricated or they won't brown properly.
Fish the onions out of the oil (using some of the oil is good but we don't want an oil slick in our soup). Discard the extra oil (save it, it is great for marinades etc). Add a small bit of the oil and all of the browned onions to a large soup pot. Add all the veg and broth and and 1 cup of the water and bring to a boil until the veg just start getting soft. Start with 1Tbs fish sauce and a few grinds of black pepper and cook it for a few minutes and then taste it before you add more. For anyone that hasn't worked much with fish sauce, it has a pungent smell and the taste of it changes pretty drastically with cooking. Wait to add sugar till the end as the veg will have a lot of natural sweetness. If you've made it too salty, add the extra water.
Feel free to add chicken to this dish. It is also perfectly fine to omit the carrots and sweet potato. This dish is often served with only daikon.
I always love serving this dish over some freshly cooked rice. Nom! Also, fresh cut scallions, lime, and or cilantro are great additions to the dish. If you feel you need a little more umami or it isn't salty enough, try a tiny bit of soy sauce (Golden Mountain is my favorite brand).