French Onion Soup..........

French onion soup is an onion and beef broth based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings. The modern version of this soup originates in France in the 17th century, made from dry bread or croutons, beef broth, and caramelized onions. It is often broiled in a ramekin traditionally with gruyère melted on top.The rich flavor of the base is not due just to the broth, but to the caramelized onions. Caramelization, in this case, is the procedure in which the onions are cooked slowly until the melting sugars approach burning temperature, becoming brown. (From Wikipedia)

Here is a version of my son's H French Onion soup.......

Ingredients: ( for 2 pax servings )

25 g butter and 1/2 tbsp olive oil (the butter is to brown the onions easily)

2 nos big white onions - sliced

3 cups of chicken stock or broth

1/2 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper

Few slices of toasted garlic bread

1/4 cup of white wine or red wine

Mozzarella cheese for toppings

Method:

In a saucepan , saute the sliced onions with butter on medium high heat til well brown... be careful not to burn it. Add in sugar and keep stirring the mixture to carmelize the onions with the sugar....takes about 10 mins. Then add in the chicken stock and white wine and cook covered in a simmer for a further 20 mins til all the flavors are well bended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, ladle the soup into 2 ramekin bowls or any heat proof bowls. Then top it with a few pieces of toasted garlic bread to cover top of bowl...next sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of bread. Put in an oven toaster or broiler at a high temperature til the cheese melts and slightly browned. Serve immediately with some more garlic bread .

Onion soup broiling in oven toaster...............


His big brother enjoying the onion soup.............

A Bowl of Yummylicious Clam Chowder.

I have never cook clam chowder soup before as I do not usually want my children to eat those fresh clams that we used to eat as children in view of the our polluted rivers these days.....And few days ago my son H, who had the urge to cook something new for me......ask me whether I wanted to have a bowl of clam chowder since he had bought a tin of canned clams. So this is how he made this really tasty soup .......

Ingredients:

A can of baby clams in own broth.........

4 slices of bacon- diced

1 big onion -sliced

2 nos potatoes - peeled and cubed

1 bay leaf

300 ml milk -heated

10 gm butter

Method:

Drain the clams and reserve the broth in a bowl.....and chop up the clams roughly. Then fry the diced bacon in a pan til the oil melts.....add in sliced onions and fry til fragrant and lightly brown. Next add in the diced potatoes and cook for 1 to 2 mins. Add broth of clams and a little water to cover the mixture. Put in the bay leaf and seasoning (do not add too much salt if the broth is salty ).....bring to a slow boil and simmer til the potatoes are tender. Next add in the clams and simmer for 10 mins. Lastly add in hot milk and butter to mix til it melts. Then it is ready to be served hot.

Note: A chowder is a soup made of clams, fish, or vegetables with potatoes, onions and other ingredients like milk and tomatoes.

Song Kee Soup......for rejuvenation......

After a busy week, I was quite exhausted and Song Kee Soup is just right soup to cook up. It is a chinese herbal soup for good health. If you are feeling tired and lack of energy this soup will bring you back to your feet. It consists of a tong sum ( a type of root that looks like dried sticks) sometimes called the poor man's gingseng.,..pak kei,..yuk chook...wai san,..kei chi,.. and dried red or black dates.

Tong Sum.........

Pak Kei..............

Wai San.........good for the stomach....

Kei Chee or Boxthorn fruit .....good for eyesight.....

Dried red and black dates..........(remove seed before cooking)....

Yuk Chook..........................

I boiled the above herbs together with half a chicken cut into bite size pieces for 2 to 3 hours. I used 3 bowls of water. It can be taken with rice or drink on its own. We can buy all the herbs from a chinese medical shop or from the supermarket in packet form with all the combine herbs.