Refreshing Version Tomato Egg Drop Noodle Soup 清爽版蕃茄蛋湯麵

Not quite the traditional tomato egg drop noodle soup. On top of lighter version chicken soup, I also infused some katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and lemon juice. In a way, it's my refreshing version of tomato egg drop noodle soup.

Tomato egg drop noodle soup -

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 portions)?

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 5 grams katsuobushi
• 6 eggs
• 4 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
• 2 stalks scallion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small bundle Chinese cabbage (smaller kind similar to bok choi)
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Some salt
• Some white pepper powder
• 3 to 4 portions round noodles

How?

Heat up the chicken stock but keep it just about to simmer. Soak in katsuobushi/bonito flakes for about 10 minutes. Some like to keep the stove on low heat, but I turned off the heat right away. Once ready, filter out the katsuobushi and set the stock aside.

Peel and grate the ginger. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Remove tougher ends and cut the Chinese cabbage into shorter sections. Destem the scallion, cut the whiter part into shorter sections and chop the greens. 

Cut the tomatoes into large chunks, no need to remove the seeds and juice. Also no need to remove the skin first. Just gradually picking out the skin during the cooking process, less stuff to wash that way (wink).

Beat the eggs and set aside for later use.

Take a deep pot, drizzle in some olive oil and turn to medium high heat. Add in chopped garlic, scallion sections, grated ginger, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook till aromatic but not burning the garlic.

Transfer chopped tomatoes over and stir-fry till the skin start to fall apart. Be careful of splashing oil during this process. That's why I highly recommend to use a deep pot, it can serve as your wall of protection. 

Meanwhile, pick out the skin while waiting for the tomatoes to cook down, it should be slightly gooey with chunks remain. Lower the heat a little if need more time here.

Pour in prepared stock. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer.

Add in Chinese cabbage and cook till preferred texture. Add a few pinches of white pepper powder. Taste and see if more salt is needed.

Stir and pour in beaten egg, also add in some freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

While prepping the soup, take another pot of water to cook the noodles. Scoop some tomato egg drop soup to serving bowls. Once the noodles are ready, drain and transfer to these bowls. Scoop more soup to the bowls and top with chopped scallion.

Such a comforting meal, it got the flavors from the land - chicken, and flavors from the sea - bonito flakes. Then the whole dish further brightens up by the acidity from the tomatoes and lemon. Lastly, rounded out by soft beaten eggs.

It works really well as flu diet too. Easy to eat and warms up your body (and soul).


Other noodles recipes:

• Japanese style Taiwan ramen 台湾ラーメン
• Stir-fried mushi noodles 木須炒麵
• Cold noodles with refreshing black sesame sauce 黑芝麻涼麵
• Black yakiudon 焼きうどん

Philadelphia Roll...Almost (with Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Avocado)

The true Philadelphia roll might be calling for smoked salmon, cucumber, and cream cheese, but there can be some variations. Instead of smoked salmon, I used fresh sashimi grade salmon instead, also swapped out cucumber with ripe avocado. But I'm not worrying too much about the ingredients, it's the rolling action that can get quite tricky. Sometimes the fillings are falling out, or the sushi shape is not holding tightly. Well, it takes some practice, just make sure to have someone (or yourself) on site to help vanishing the not-so-perfect food. Nom nom nom.

Philadelphia roll -

Ingredients?

• 1/2 cup sushi rice (or short grain rice)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• Some sushi grade salmon
• Some cream cheese
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• Some nori sheets
• Some light soy sauce (to serve)

How?

Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Make sure the sugar and salt have been fully dissolved. 

Cook the rice like usual, but once ready, fluffy the grains with pre-mixed seasonings. Try to fan and fluff the grains at the same time, keep cool till temperature drops and ok to handle by hand. 

Pre-cut the cream cheese and salmon into strips. Remove the pit and scoop out the avocado. Try to cut into similar shape.

Wrap the bamboo mat with plastic wrap, it'll prevent rice from sticking all over and easy cleaning afterward. 

Lay one sheet of nori on top. Wet both hands with pre-boiled/drinkable water and spread some rice over nori.

Place the salmon, cream cheese, and avocado on one side.

Grab both the mat and the nori sheet, roll over the fillings, like surrounding the fillings, and squeeze to firm up the round shape of the sushi roll. Release and keep rolling till the end and squeeze again to firm up the shape. 

Transfer the roll to a cutting board and slice to serving pieces using a very sharp knife. Otherwise the fillings can get squeezed out without a clean cut. 

Serve with light soy sauce.

Sometimes I also make the rolls but only with cream cheese, regular rice, and nori sheet. Don't even bother to make the grains into full on sushi rice. It's like my simple afternoon treat before dinner.

By the way, making sushi rolls can be quite a hassle in the beginning. Check out some videos online and see how people roll up sushi if there's any doubt. Otherwise, trial and error always work, use less rice and fillings to begin with help too. Also make sure to have a little helper to make all the not too good looking ones disappear!