Canh Bun Ca - Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup With Fish...

"Mama, If you made the snail soup with tomatoes but put fish in it instead, what would you call it?" <send>

<open> "It would be: Canh Bun Ca. Canh: Soup; Bun: Vermicelli; Ca: Fish."

"Is that your literal translation or is that what the dish is normally called?" <send>

<open>"I heard people make this kind of soup. It is not my translation. Usually, we put some kind of vegetables called "rau rut" in it. I saw that vegetable only once in a Vietnamese market. How is Honeydew?"

"Honeydew is a wreck from being left alone at home for a few hours over the weekend so now she's following me everywhere I go. Other than that, she's good. :)" <send>

<end emails>

Canh Bun Ca. (KKANG boohn KKAH).

That's the recipe I'm sharing with you today. Rice noodles in a deliciously layered tomato broth with pieces of white fish poached in that broth (though shrimp would be just as delicious) and accompanied by assorted greens and herbs to be eaten with spoonfuls of noodle and soup for flavor and crunch. Wedges of lime and sambal oelek on the side for added zip and spice (but sriracha would also be tasty).

Truly a hair of the dog antidote for the still and somewhat oppressive heat that visited us yesterday.

By now, you might already know that mine are not the recipes to consult if you want to tell your foodie friends that you made an authentic this or that. We eat all kinds of stuff in our house on a reasonable but limited budget, and I am highly unlikely to keep a stash of rau rut in the produce drawer, or even the lemongrass and tamarind often used to make the bun oc (a similar dish with sea snails as the protein) that is the inspiration for this recipe. Shoot, I didn't even have pork stock on hand last night and used chicken instead.

When I make my knockoff versions of traditional dishes, I aim to approximate flavors and textures as best I can by using ingredients that can easily function in multiple cuisines. The closer I can get to original, the happier I am as a cook. But if I can deliciously satisfy the craving for a dish by hitting all the different notes within a fairly small ballpark, I can be pretty darned happy as an eater.

This dish, while slightly richer, is certainly and strongly reminiscent of bun oc, but it could very well satisfy a craving for bouillabaisse (BWEEyaBAESS) or cioppino (chohpPEEnoh) if you're willing to put a Vietnamese spin on it. ;)

CANH BUN CA (KKANG boohn KKAH)
Serves 4

- roughly 11 oz. of bun tuoi (Vietnamese rice vermicelli) cooked per package instructions, 4 servings of al dente angel hair will work in a pinch, but nothing thicker

- 1.5 to 2 pounds of white fish cut into 1" chunks, or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

- 1 medium yellow or white onion, peeled and cut into sixths (or smaller if you like)
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1 inch segment of fresh ginger root, sliced into 1/8" thick pieces
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil (vegetable or canola is fine)
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 Tablespoon red chili flakes
- 2 pounds tomatoes (beefsteak or plum), peeled and quartered OR one 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained and cut into quarters
- 8 cups unsalted pork or chicken stock (or some combination of stock and water, but try to do at least half stock)
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
- salt if needed to adjust seasoning

- a plate of thinly sliced fresh herbs and vegetables to eat with bites of noodle and soup (sorta like the herbs and sprouts that come with pho): lettuce, fresh sprouts and spearmint are typical. Last night, I used red lettuce, green cabbage, green onion, cilantro, spearmint and fresh jalapeno)
- 2 limes, cut into 12 wedges

1) In a large pot, bring 1 Tablespoon of oil to medium high heat and saute the onions, ginger and garlic until the onions just begin to turn translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.

2) Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the tomato paste and red chili flakes and saute for another minute or so. The resulting caramelized tomato paste gives the soup its color as well as some of the tang you would get from using tamarind.

3) Add in the chicken stock, tomatoes (I used fresh) and fish sauce and bring the soup to a boil.

4) Once the soup comes to a boil, turn down the heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered (leave about 1/2" crack to allow steam to escape) for 20 to 25 minutes. While the soup is simmering, you can boil the noodles, prep the fresh veg, and put the noodles in noodle bowls, about 1.5 cups cooked noodles per serving.

5) After 25 minutes, put the fish or shrimp in the soup and adjust the seasoning, adding a pinch or two more salt if needed. Stir in the fish and simmer until the fish (or shrimp) *just* turns opaque. As soon as it turns opaque, no more than 3 or 4 minutes usually, turn off the heat.

6)  Ladle enough soup into the bowls to to cover the noodles and then some. You want a healthy ratio of broth so the noodles don't absorb too much.

7) Serve with the fresh veg and mint garnish and lime and sambal on the side.

I like to add a squeeze or two of lime and a dollop of sambal to my soup. I also like to add some lime juice and sambal to the mix of greens. It adds brightness and zing to each bite. 

Great hot weather food when you want to sweat off the heat, great cold weather food when you want to warm your belly.

Hope you like.

shinae

Chicken Stock Part Deux...

The other day, I started to write about how to dissect a chicken and make stock, and though I would have liked to complete that post, I am often frustrated by how blogger inserts line breaks with no apparent rhyme or reason, ALL THE TIME. And because I'm in no position to replace this mac should I strangle it to death or throw it out the window in complete frustration, I give up. Fixing the convoluted html is not an option because as soon as you fix it on the back end, blogger goes in and inserts yet more line breaks, with yet more convoluted code, just because it can.

Caldo de Pollo...

So while I'm deciding whether to move to a more predictable platform, if one exists, or to continue here and just figure out a workaround, I often publish my posts short of complete information to spare myself the consequences of First Degree Laptopslaughter. 

But I digress...

... Mashed Potatoes...

Might be hard for some to believe, but there is often heated debate about what makes something a stock and not a broth. Once that's established, there's even hotter debate about the proper way to make it. Roasting bones, fashioning a bouquet garni (booKAY gahrNEE) out of very specific herbs, simmering 'til the chickens come home... And all for good reason within the context of certain food cultures.


But as with any debate that becomes academic, credible arguments are made from many sides. And a cook, especially one who writes about cooking, for practical purposes, has to draw lines in the sand for herself. So all those very detailed, valid and academic arguments included or aside, I tend to make the distinction between stock and broth in two related things: 

1) the addition of salt, and 

2) whether the flavor of the liquid is such that I could serve it as soup or consomme by itself.

And since I use my stock as a base or cooking liquid for soups, sauces and starches from a number of cuisines, I not only never salt my stock, but I barely flavor it with any other elements. And come to think of it, the more I use it, I less I am inclined to add anything but the bones, fat, skin and some flesh. 

... a super simple and lightly buttered risotto...

... even instant tom yum.

All made richer and tastier with a little chicken stock.

Sometimes I'll add an onion and maybe a single carrot, because onion is a truly ubiquitous ingredient throughout the world and because a single carrot lends some sweetness without too much distinct fragrance or flavor. In this particular series of pics, also one (and only one - a little goes a long way on my palate) stalk of celery. And that's only because celery gets such little play in my kitchen that a whole bunch, bought for the purpose of making potato salad, will never get used if I don't take every reasonable opportunity to use it. Finally, never any herbs. The simpler my stock, the more adaptable it is, and equally easy for me to use in a pot of pho broth, or tom kha gai, or chili, or risotto, or gravy... I could go on.

And as to the long simmer (3 or 4 hours is often prescribed), which results in a lot of collagen extraction, greater reduction of liquid and higher concentration of flavor, as well as a thicker, more gelatinous substance upon cooling, I prefer a relatively short simmer. No longer than an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes to simmer 8 cups of water down to roughly 6-ish cups of stock. No question you lose some richness, but that kind of richness doesn't work well with everything. And a thinner stock makes for something closer to a one-to-one substitution for water (not exactly, but closer). Not to mention the difference between one hour and three.

One last thing before I post the almost not recipe. I'm not much of an arm twister. I figure if someone wants to make stock, they're going to. But if I can cajole for a moment, I will say that there is a worthwhile difference in depth and complexity of flavor when you substitute some or all of the water in many soup or sauce recipes with stock. And I'll take it a step further to say that there is then another very worthwhile difference between the very simple, pure and unadulterated flavor you get from homemade stock and one that is made to withstand months, years even, on a shelf. So, with no further ado, I release your arm and present you my barely recipe for chicken stock.

CHICKEN STOCK

Makes about 6 cups

You'll need a large stock pot or Dutch oven, and though I'm not big on most single task gadgets, a chinois (sheenWAH) is ideal to strain and filter the stock. If you don't have a chinois, you can also line a strainer or collander with a paper towel and slowly strain the stock, 2 or 3 ladlefuls at a time, replacing the paper towel halfway as it'll get clogged with whatever floaty things result from the simmer.

1) Take the carved up carcass of a whole chicken like I did here, OR 3 or 4 pieces of bone-in thighs (I find the dark meat pieces have more fat and flavor), or even better, chicken backs if you can find them, and place in a stock pot or Dutch oven.

2) Add whatever flavor components work with the style of cooking you like best or cook most. If your preferences are all over the place like mine are, you may find that just a quartered bulb of onion, or nothing at all, is best.

3) Pour in 8 cups cold water and make sure everything is submerged. Cold water is important because hot water can seize up the collagen, which lends the rich flavor and velvety mouthfeel you get from a good stock.

4) Bring the stock to a gentle boil over medium high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for about an hour or so. This is so far from rocket science.

5) Strain the stock through a chinois, fine sieve or paper towel lined strainer as described above.

6) Cool the stock to room temperature before refrigerating, about an hour or so, to keep bacteria at bay. The stock will keep in the fridge for about a week, several weeks in the freezer.

Liquid *YUM*

After several hours in the fridge (7 or 8), the fat will completely solidify into a thin layer atop the stock. You can easily remove this and discard, or, keep to add a little flavor to your sauteed veg and mashed or pan fried potatoes, or even a little extra tenderness and flake to your savory pastry doughs.

So little actual work to make the stock, and so much improvement to so many dishes. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but if you're not a member, I hope you'll join. :)

shinae

How A Cheap Chick Dissects Cheap Chicken...

I talk all the time about my penchant for frugality. Well, I say *frugal*, you say *cheap* - and I'm ok with that. It's been a loooooong time since I've not looked at the price tag when making a purchase. Whether it's 5, 5 thousand, or 50 thousand dollars, I know exactly how much I pay for everything I buy, and I think that has a lot to do with the resolution I made early on in life to live within my own means so others couldn't, or wouldn't try to, dictate my choices for me.

I'm that gal who knows the per pound price for ginger root when the cashier doesn't know the SKU. When I bought "COFFEE & A PASTRY $2.99" at Whole Foods and they charged me $3.50, I asked why. (Well, "because your 2 dollar *cookie* is not a $2.25 *pastry*" even though they're all in the same display case under the big, fat sign that fails to specify *select* pastries and we all know WF has lawyers to vet that kind of stuff.) If I seemed pennypinching in the inquiry, I accepted the reply without fuss. I try not to shoot messengers.

And no, I'm not one of those misers who separates the plies on my TP to make 2 rolls. I don't embarrass my kids by wearing my clothes from high school that not only look ridiculous but fit so poorly it hurts (which is not to say I don't embarrass them in other ways). I tip 20 percent. I don't keep every last pie tin from every last pie that someone's brought over for dinner in case there's a war and they start rationing out pie tins.

But I do think frugality is a virtue. One that often goes hand in hand with a certain kind of humility and one often lost - sometimes by necessity - to our post industrial, time is money culture. There is no shame in looking for, or recognizing and taking advantage of, value. And in the paradigm of cooking deliciously,  there are few value propositions that exceed the good use of a whole chicken.

When I'm being specially resourceful, one whole, 5 pound bird (often available to me at $1/lb - I don't do the free-range, organic thing, but that's a discussion for another post - and it's not because I don't care about my health or the environment) yields:

- dinner for 4 adults with a variety of light and dark meat

- 6 cups of a light, all-purpose chicken stock to use throughout the week, (If you don't see the value in chicken stock, use it in lieu of water just once in your rice, soup or sauce.

- 2 or 3 meals for our wiener dog Honeydew

- 3 or 4 tablespoons of chicken fat, which is wonderful for adding a little flavor to sauteed vegetables or flaking up a savory empanada pastry, and

- enough chicken skin to fry up a little newspaper coneful of chicharrones to share with the Man over an icy cold lager

All these things will cost different amounts in different places, but the math is easy. A whole chicken, if you're willing to put in the elbow grease, will return your investment at least 7 or 8 fold in the final analysis.

But "What about my time?" you say. What about it? If you wanted quick and easy, you'd be cracking open a Hungry Girl book. She assembles delicious fat free, sugar free, flavor free meals in the time it takes to read one of my long winded posts. She'll save you all kinds of time. But I'm assuming if you've stuck with me this far, you don't think of your time in the kitchen as a sacrifice. Think of it another way: It's probably one of the least expensive and most useful hobbies you'll ever undertake.

Over due practice, you will save time. But assuming you're here because you love good food like I do (or you find the train wreck that is my life too compelling to avert your eyes), I enthusiastically encourage you to pass up that tray of thighs, or drums, or breasts (all of which cost at least double if not more), bag a whole chicken, arm yourself with a sharp knife and a pair of kitchen shears, and dissect the thing. It'll build your character, fatten your wallet, and satisfy your tastebuds.

DISSECTING CHICKEN & MAKING STOCK 101

1. Get a sharp knife, a pair of kitchen shears, a large pot, and a cutting board lined with a plastic grocery bag (makes for easier cleanup). Unwrap and drain your chicken in the sink, hind cavity side down, to get rid of all that funky raw chicken juice.

2) With the hind cavity facing you, (don't get all pervy on me now), pull out the neck and giblets. Neck goes into the stock pot. Giblets go in a separate bowl for whatever other purpose (usually a snack for me - I HEART chicken offal like nobody's business.)

3)With your shears, remove what I call the buttflap of fat from the back sides of the chicken, cutting out a V on both sides like so:

Throw those flaps in the stock pot. FAT IS FLAVOR.

4) Move on to the quarters (the thigh + drum piece). Pull one quarter away from the body and cut through the skin and about 1/4" of flesh. Pull the quarter another couple of inches until you hear a pop. At that point, you should be able to see the joint. Cut through the middle of the joint as you continue to pull on the quarter. Once you're through the joint, you'll be able to cut through the flesh and sever the quarter from the body easily.

Repeat on the other side, and your chicken looks like this:

5) Do the same with the wings:

6) Now, pulling up on the bottom half of the back near the tail (often called the Pope's nose - I don't know why), take your shears and cut through the thin rib bones on both sides.

My left hand was busy taking this pic. Otherwise,
I'd have been doing what I told you to do.

With both sides cut, keep pulling up at the bottom back portion, and you'll see this:

You can snip right through it and throw that piece in the pot too, and your chicken will look like this:

7) Same jobby on the upper back portion and chuck that into the pot as well:

8)  Flip the remaining whole breast and snip away what I call the boobflap fat in a V and put that in the pot too.

Check that trachea
or epiglottis
or whatever that is...

9) Feeling the center for the bone, cut slowly into the flesh on each side, keeping the knife as close to the bone as possible, to release each chicken boob from the breastplate.

Continue cutting slowly, knife against the bone, and remove each breast. Throw what's left into the pot.

!VOILA! You've dissected a whole chicken and should feel bloody righteous about now if you've never done it before.

Dissected chicken - *WOOT!!!*

Back in a bit with the quick stock (hardly) recipe. 11:49 and I am *STARVING*.


shinae


P.S. I do know the difference between *cookies* and *pastries*, but I wouldn't be the first one to call hokey on Whole Foods' pricing/signage practices.


06.24.11 - Chicken stock recipe posted here.