The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (36 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Vietnamese noodle soups are based on a homemade broth, enhanced with exotic flavorings, and then filled with rice noodles and paper-thin slices of beef, along with a variety of vegetables and herbs. We wanted to create a flavorful yet simple base for a couple of quick Asian-style soups using canned chicken broth and easily accessible ingredients. We combined strong flavorings like ginger, star anise, garlic, and fish sauce with the broth, simmered the mixture for 20 minutes, and then added meat (or chicken), vegetables, and herbs. The result: fast, aromatic, and flavorful Vietnamese-style soups.
SERVES 4
This recipe moves quickly; be sure to have all the vegetables and herbs prepped when you begin cooking.
NOODLES
8 | ounces wide rice noodles |
BROTH
5 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
4 | garlic cloves, peeled and smashed |
1 | (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into ¹⁄ |
2 | (3-inch-long) cinnamon sticks |
2 | star anise pods |
2 | tablespoons fish sauce |
1 | tablespoon soy sauce |
1 | tablespoon sugar |
MEAT AND VEGETABLES
1 | (12-ounce) shell sirloin steak, trimmed and sliced crosswise into ¹⁄ |
Salt and pepper | |
1 | tablespoon vegetable oil |
5 | ounces bean sprouts (2¹⁄ |
1 | jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin crosswise |
2 | scallions, sliced thin on bias |
¹⁄ | cup fresh basil, large leaves torn in half |
¹⁄ | cup fresh mint, large leaves torn in half |
¹⁄ | cup fresh cilantro leaves |
2 | tablespoons chopped unsalted roasted peanuts |
Lime wedges |
1. FOR THE NOODLES:
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Off heat, add noodles and let sit until tender but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and distribute among 4 bowls.
2. FOR THE BROTH:
Bring all ingredients to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Remove solids from pan with slotted spoon and discard. Cover broth and keep hot over low heat until ready to serve.
3. FOR THE MEAT AND VEGETABLES:
Season steak with salt and pepper. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of steak slices in single layer and sear until well-browned, 1 to 2 minutes on each side; set aside. Repeat with remaining slices.
4.
Divide sprouts among bowls with noodles, add steak, then ladle in broth. Sprinkle each serving with jalapeño, scallions, basil, mint, cilantro, and peanuts and serve, passing lime wedges separately.
SERVES 4
NOODLES
8 | ounces wide rice noodles |
BROTH AND CHICKEN
5 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
12 | ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 3 thighs), trimmed |
4 | garlic cloves, peeled and smashed |
1 | (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into ¹⁄ |
2 | star anise pods |
3 | tablespoons fish sauce |
1 | tablespoon soy sauce |
2 | teaspoons sugar |
Salt |
VEGETABLES
4 | cups shredded napa cabbage |
2 | scallions, sliced thin on bias |
¹⁄ | cup fresh mint, large leaves torn in half |
¹⁄ | cup fresh cilantro leaves |
2 | tablespoons chopped unsalted roasted peanuts |
Lime wedges |
1. FOR THE NOODLES:
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Off heat, add noodles and let sit until tender but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and distribute among 4 bowls.
2. FOR THE BROTH AND CHICKEN:
Bring all ingredients except salt to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, to blend flavors, 10 to 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
3.
Remove chicken with slotted spoon and continue to simmer broth, about 10 minutes. When chicken is cool enough to handle, slice thin. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer and return to pot. Season with salt to taste. Cover broth and keep hot over low heat until ready to serve.
4. FOR THE VEGETABLES:
Divide cabbage and chicken among bowls with noodles, then ladle in broth. Sprinkle each serving with scallions, mint, cilantro, and peanuts and serve, passing lime wedges separately.
To release the flavorful oils from fresh ginger, thinly slice a knob and then use the end of a chef’s knife to smash each piece.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
We found that the secret to a rich onion soup was caramelizing the onions a full 2¹⁄
2
hours in the oven and then deglazing the pot several times with a combination of water, chicken broth, and beef broth. For the classic crouton topping, we toasted the bread before floating it in the soup to ward off sogginess, and we sprinkled the toasts with just a modest amount of nutty Gruyère to keep its flavor from overwhelming the soup.
SERVES 6
Use a Dutch oven with at least a 7-quart capacity for this recipe. Sweet onions, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, will make this recipe overly sweet. Note that the entire process for caramelizing the onions takes 45 to 60 minutes. Use broiler-safe crocks and keep the rim of the bowls 4 to 5 inches from the heating element to obtain a proper gratinée of melted, bubbly cheese. If using ordinary soup bowls, sprinkle the toasted bread slices with Gruyère and return them to the broiler until the cheese melts, then float them on top of the soup.
SOUP
4 | pounds onions, halved and sliced through the root end into ¹⁄ |
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces |
Salt and pepper | |
2 | cups water, plus extra for deglazing |
¹⁄ | cup dry sherry |
4 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | cups beef broth |
6 | sprigs fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine |
1 | bay leaf |
CHEESE CROUTONS
1 | small baguette, cut into ¹⁄ |
8 | ounces shredded Gruyère cheese (2 cups) |
1. FOR THE SOUP:
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray inside of Dutch oven with vegetable oil spray. Add onions, butter, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour (onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove pot from oven and stir onions, scraping bottom and sides of pot. Return pot to oven with lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until onions are very soft and golden brown, 1¹⁄
2
to 1³⁄
4
hours longer, stirring onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.
2.
Carefully remove pot from oven (leave oven on) and place over medium-high heat. Cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until liquid evaporates and onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes (reduce heat to medium if onions brown too quickly). Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until bottom of pot is coated with dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary. (Scrape any browned bits that collect on spoon back into onions.) Stir in ¹⁄
4
cup water, scraping pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3.
Stir in 2 cups water, chicken broth, beef broth, thyme, bay leaf, and ¹⁄
2
teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. FOR THE CHEESE CROUTONS:
While soup simmers, arrange baguette slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake until bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
5. TO SERVE:
Adjust oven rack 7 to 8 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set 6 broiler-safe crocks on rimmed baking sheet and fill each with about 1³⁄
4
cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.
TO MAKE AHEAD:
Onions can be prepared through step 1, cooled in pot, and refrigerated for up to 3 days before proceeding with recipe. Soup can be prepared through step 3 and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
This variation uses a microwave for the initial cooking of the onions, which dramatically reduces the cooking time. The soup’s flavor, however, will not be quite as deep as with the stovetop method. If you don’t have a microwave-safe bowl large enough to accommodate all of the onions, microwave in a smaller bowl in 2 batches.
Combine onions and 1 teaspoon salt in large bowl and cover with large plate (plate should completely cover bowl and not rest on onions). Microwave for 20 to 25 minutes until onions are soft and wilted, stirring halfway through cooking. (Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave and remove plate away from you to avoid steam.) Drain onions (about ¹⁄
2
cup liquid should drain off) and proceed with step 2, melting butter in Dutch oven before adding wilted onions.
