20Nov, 2023
Macaroni Soup with Ham 火腿通心粉汤

Cooked Macaroni soup with Ham for a quick dinner over the weekend. This dish is really nostalgic locally because it’s something that most of us have had when we were kids. But somehow as we grew older, we don’t seem to fancy this dish that much anymore but it still remains as a core breakfast staple in the hearts of the people in Hong Kong.

And since I have some macaroni to clear, thought it’s time I re-kindle myself back with this dish. Instead of ham, you could also opt for shredded chicken breast meat which would be equally great and perhaps healthier too. But the ham added some savoriness to the soup which I thought made it more tasty.

Some of you asked me if I cooked my own chicken soup stock or whether I got those off from the shelves. Technically speaking, I have both. If I cooked my own soup stock, I would cook a huge batch of them and freeze the extra. But if I decide to do some last minute cooking and I simply do not have the time to thaw the soup, then I will use the store bought ones. The one which I’ve always used is from the Japanese brand Mizkan. They have a couple of different kinds of soup bases, and the ones which I used most commonly will be the pork and chicken.

So here’s sharing to sharing this really quick and fuss free Macaroni soup with ham recipe. And somehow while this dish reminds me of Hong Kong, I do hope that the situation there get better soon and I’ll be able to make a holiday trip there once again.

19Nov, 2023
Spinach Tri Eggs Macaroni Soup 苋菜三蛋通心粉汤

Riding on the wave that a number of spinach soup stalls has sprouted up recently in our local hawker centers, I decide to cook this soup too ! Well although spinach is generally good for health as advertised, but based on what the old folks say, not everyone is suitable to consume spinach because too much of it tends to be too “cooling” for the body in the Asian context. And furthermore, with the addition of century eggs and salted eggs, I do wonder if it is really that healthy as advertised.

Nevertheless, I feel everything should still be consumed in moderation and that would be generally fine. It’s not as if you are gonna have all the eggs on an everyday basis. So this soup is still good in its own context. In fact, I think without all the century eggs and stuffs, it probably won’t stand out as much too. And pairing tri-eggs with spinach seem ideally compatible. And it’s the first time I am having macaroni this way, and I suppose it works pretty decently too !

You can use any soup base for this to your preference. Whilst some will probably prefer an ikan bilis soup base, I used a pork bones and chicken one instead. And with additions such as mushrooms, minced meat and slice pork to accompany the soup. So it’s literally a soup packed with alot of ingredients indeed.

The spinach tends to shrink quite a fair bit after cooking so don’t be intimidated by throwing one huge bunch of them to cook. I tend to remove the stems and pluck only the leaves from the spinach for cooking because some of the stems can get stringy and difficult to eat after cooking. And spinach are known to contain alot of sand, so be mindful to wash and rinse them a few times before cooking too.

This soup is really delicious and I will cook it again using an ikan bilis soup stock the next round !

9Nov, 2023
Macaroni in Borscht Soup 通心粉罗宋汤

Prepped this as a non-beef version and it tastes really good ! The soup has a tangy sourish-ness from the tomatoes, savouriness from the seasoning and sweetness from the vegetables, a healthy and delicious all-in-one soup. And to top if off, I added macaroni for that extra carbo. If you are intending to prep this as a vegetarian version, replace the chicken soup with that of a vegetables soup and it will be even more wholesome.

Macaroni in Borscht Soup 通心粉罗宋汤

Macaroni in Borscht Soup 通心粉罗宋汤

Recipe by Eat What TonightCourse: MainCuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

  • 250ml chicken stock

  • 350ml water + more for topping up

  • 1 small carrot, diced

  • 1 potato, diced

  • 1/2 onion, diced

  • 3 sticks of celery, diced

  • 2 tomatoes, cut into quarters

  • 4 leaves of cabbage, sliced thinly

  • 1 tsp minced garlic

  • 3 pcs bay leaves

  • 2 tbsp tomato paste

  • Some macaroni

  • Some freshly grind sea salt and black pepper