#ingredient help

You’ll get about two-thirds more soup with this recipe than the soup kit, which translates to 4 meal-sized servings. Scale it up or down to meet your needs. Customise it however you like: use less fish sauce to lower the salt, substitute a red or yellow curry for a different flavour, throw in extra vegetables, decrease the coconut milk to reduce the fat, thicken it to make a sauce instead of soup, make it vegetarian, some people even add peanut butter. The possibilities are endless. In fact, I’ve included links to vegetarian recipes at the end.

I made this using reduced sodium broth with a full fat coconut milk and it was creamy and delicious. The flavour was better than the soup kit with a nice heat. Be sure to stir really well before serving; the first two bowls I ladled out were very spicy while the last two were mild. IMPACT ON THE POCKETBOOK: The soup kit already requires you to supply chicken breast, chicken broth, coconut milk, lime juice and cilantro. The recipe uses 3 times the chicken but I don’t consider this an extra expense since I recommended using more chicken with the soup kit, and the recipe does have a larger yield. This recipe also uses a higher proportion of coconut milk than the soup kit (66% more), which means the entire can is used and not just two fifths. Bell peppers replace mushrooms as the fresh vegetable, so I’m disregarding this as an extra expense as well.

Of the remaining ingredients, some are things I keep around all the time, so I’ll only cost out the portions used (oil, onion, garlic and rice noodles add up to $0.71). That leaves fish sauce and curry paste as items I have to buy specifically to make this soup. In total, I paid $3.19 in addition to the ingredients listed above. Compare this to the price of a soup kit at $3.99.

The recipe, as published, costs out to $14.03 in ingredients and yields about 2.5 L of soup. Scaled down to match the 1.5 L that the soup kit makes, the cost would be $8.42 as opposed to $11.21 for the soup kit with an equivalent amount of chicken. I’ve included a full cost breakdown at the end of this post.

Food Network recipe (as published) = $14.03 Food Network recipe (scaled to match soup kit) = $8.42 Campbell’s Thai soup kit (as directed, with 160 g chicken) = $10.03 Campbell’s Thai soup kit (with 270 g chicken) = $11.21 BRANDS THAT I USED: Since I’m making a Thai dish, I decided to choose Thai brands of fish sauce and curry paste to get the most authentic flavours. The product must also be readily available to me at my local stores. I relied on blog reviews and message boards to help me decide.

FISH SAUCE: There’s a wide range of quality and pricing but in general, the less ingredients on the label, the better: you basically want fish and salt. Stronger sauces hold up well to longer cooking times, while the milder sauces are better for dipping or adding at the very end. It’s also best to match country of origin to the cuisine; for example: a Vietnamese fish sauce is very different from a Filipino one. I chose Cock Brand since it’s a natural fish sauce (no additives or preservatives) and it’s a mid-quality sauce that is good for cooking. A 200 mL bottle of Cock Brand fish sauce sells for $0.99 at my local Loblaws.

CURRY PASTE: Different brands of curry paste have varying levels of heat from “wimp  friendly” to “burn your tongue off” so choose one that’s appropriate for you. I chose Maesri brand because it’s apparently the least salty and least spicy of two very popular brands. That does not mean this curry paste is mild; it’s simply less spicy than the other one. As a bonus, it’s a completely vegetarian product (contains no shrimp paste or fish sauce) and it’s available in 4 oz cans as opposed to 14 oz tubs. A 4 oz (114 g) can of Maesri green curry paste costs $1.49 at my local T&T (there is approximately 6 Tbsp of paste in the can). I also picked up a 112 g jar of Thai Kitchen green curry paste, which I suspect is geared towards the North American palate, but have yet to use it. Curry paste freezes well if you can’t use it all up.

COCONUT MILK: At my local grocery stores, a 400 mL can of coconut milk can cost anywhere from $0.99 to $3.59. Aroy-D brand was on sale last week for $1.29 but is normally $2.29 a can at my local T&T. I have no experience with coconut milk and my internet research has been confusing but I did manage to get some tips: -> For cooking purposes, the full fat products (20-29% fat) yield better results. -> It’s normal for coconut milk to separate like oil and water; shake the can well before opening or use the separated top layer as an oil to fry your spices. -> Be aware that along with stabilisers and preservatives, many brands add emulsifiers to keep the coconut milk from separating. This is probably desired for desserts and drinks but unnecessary for cooking. -> Stay away from “Lite” coconut milk because they reduce fat by adding extra water, emulsifiers and flavouring, which isn’t good value for your money. If you want to reduce fat in your dish, use less coconut milk; leftover milk can be frozen.

RICE NOODLES: I buy noodles all the time but have absolutely no preference for brand. I honestly just buy whatever brand is on sale. Last week, I paid $3.00 for two 500 g bags that are normally $2.50 each. These noodles are divided into 50 g portions which makes them very convenient to use. HELPFUL LINKS: The recipe - Food Network Kitchens: Thai Chicken Soup

A quick run down of ingredients: ● Can I Get A Good Premade Thai Curry Paste? ● All About Fish Sauce (Nam Pla) ● Vegan Alternatives to Fish Sauce, Shrimp Paste and Oyster Sauce in Thai Cuisine

Tips on buying Thai curry paste: ● Basic, Pre-Made Thai Ingredients for Curries and Soups ● Thai Test Kitchen: Which Brand of Curry Paste is Best?

How to choose a fish sauce. Note the country of origin and choose an appropriate sauce for the dishes you wish to prepare: ● Fish Sauce ● Thai Fish Sauce Taste Test ● Fish Sauce Taste Test, 13 Brands Compared

Vegetarians can substitute soy sauce and shiitake for the umami, or make your own vegan version (I have not tried any of these): ● Vegetarian Fish Sauce Substitute (scroll halfway down the page) ● Vegan Fish Sauce

Vegetarian Thai coconut soup - three completely different and very customisable recipes (I have also not tried any of these): ● Thai Coconut & Veg Broth ● Thai Curry Vegetable and Tofu Soup ● Vegan Lemongrass Thai Green Curry Soup with Zucchini Noodles DETAILED COST BREAKDOWN Full Food Network recipe: • $0.10 vegetable oil ($4.77/1.42L bottle) • $0.25 onion ($2.00/3 lb bag) • $0.06 garlic ($0.77/pkg of 3) • $1.49 bell peppers ($2.98/pkg of 4) • $3.18 chicken broth, 1.42L ($1.99/900mL carton) • $4.88 chicken breast (1 lb, 454g) • $0.63 cilantro ($1.25/bunch) • $0.30 rice noodles ($1.50/500g pkg) • $0.50 green curry paste ($1.49/4oz can) • $0.15 fish sauce ($0.99/200mL bottle) • $2.29 coconut milk (400mL can) ** • $0.20 lime ** 15 fl. oz. converts to 443 mL, the cans I purchase are 400 mL, so it’s short by 43 mL. I see no reason to purchase and open a second 400 mL can for such a small amount; the recipe can handle a missing 10% coconut milk.

Campbell’s Thai soup kit: • $2.90 chicken breast (270g @ $4.88/lb) • $1.99 Campbell’s chicken broth, 900mL • $1.00 mushrooms ($1.99/227g pkg) • $0.21 cilantro ($1.25/bunch) • $3.99 soup kit • $0.92 coconut milk ($2.29/400mL can) • $0.20 lime

I’ve eaten plenty of homemade buns but none of them had the texture of the commercially produced ones. If the internet is to be believed, those restaurant style buns are achievable for the home cook provided you have access to certain ingredients: either wheat starch, or ammonium bicarbonate (a.k.a. baker’s ammonia) and Chinese lye water (potassium carbonate + sodium bicarbonate, a.k.a. kansui solution). After many months of intermittent research, I’ve finally decided to tackle this. I’m working my way up to making them, starting with the bread dough.

I’ve found a very promising recipe for the dough. Unfortunately, I don’t have all the ingredients at home, namely wheat starch and Hong Kong flour (a highly bleached, low-protein flour, around 8%). Not to be deterred, I’ve opted to substitute cornstarch for the wheat starch and a combination of all purpose flour and cornstarch for the Hong Kong flour. I also used coconut oil because I don’t have shortening or vegetable oil (my other options were olive, sesame and peanut oil). With all these substitutions, the I knew texture wouldn’t be right but hoped it’d be passable.

I made a quarter batch of dough, which is 4 buns, and didn’t make the BBQ pork filling (that’s another day’s experiment). Chopped up kolbasa served as a stand-in so I could practise wrapping the buns and folding the pleats. The dough itself felt stiff after the first kneading; it felt better after adding the baking powder solution but I still worried that the pleats wouldn’t stick together. In the end, it was actually fairly easy to wrap the buns. You can see my progress over the four buns, from top left to bottom right.

The finished buns looked good and tasted alright but the bread was dense. The main problem is that I used the wrong flour and starch. Canadian all-purpose flour has a protein content of 12%, which is far too high for this bread. While the addition of cornstarch can lower the overall protein level, it isn’t enough in some cases. Cornstarch also has different properties from wheat starch and can’t produce the same texture. Lastly, I may have over-kneaded or over-proofed the dough. The tolerances are probably very low for higher gluten flour.

I will try again once I have purchased wheat starch and pastry flour, which is a decent substitute for Hong Kong flour. It won’t be bright white but that’s fine with me.

One last note about the ingredients: I believe the recipe was developed using single-acting baking powder, which is apparently the common type overseas. The baking powder commonly used in North American homes is double-acting. They can be used interchangeably, in equal amounts. Double-acting is just more forgiving. If you really want to use single-acting baking powder and can’t find any, you can make your own. The dough recipe is from Lydia Teh of mykitch3n. This is apparently the best recipe out there for home cooks but Miss B has included very extensive notes on her page so it’s definitely the one to consult if you’re new to this. Thanks to this Chowhound thread and Rasa Malaysia for pointing me to Lydia Teh’s recipe.

Miss B’s adaptation with notes and tips - Smiling Char Siew Bao Hong Kong Style Original recipe from Lydia Teh - Char Siew Bao

Agar agar is a bit tricky to work with: it first needs to be soaked in cold water, then boiled in order to dissolve. It also gels somewhere between 32°C and 43°C so everything you mix it with needs to be warm, preferably hot. At least if you make a mistake, you can cook it down and try again, which is what I had to do.

On my first try, I had difficulty getting the agar agar powder to dissolve properly. I ended up boiling away more water than I should have. Then I added too much agar agar to one layer and not enough to the other, resulting in a really firm bottom layer and a top layer that set only half the time. Additionally, I waited too long in between pouring the first and second layers because the second layer wouldn’t mix right. The bottom layer was completely set by the time I poured a warm second layer on top so they wouldn’t stick together.

The next day, I dumped everything in a saucepan and boiled it down with more agar agar and milk to lighten the colour, and kept it hot on the stove. I made a new mixture for the bottom layer in another saucepan and poured it into the mould. I let the other mixture cool down while waiting for the bottom layer to set. Both mixtures were still too hot when I started pouring the top layer; my first cube became a cloudy mix instead of two distinct layers. After a minute, I tried again with more success. Into the fridge it went and three hours later, out came a refreshing jelly dessert.

I combined two recipes to make this: This one to mix the flavours - Coffee and Milk Agar Jello This one for help on the layers - Coffee and Cream Agar Jelly (Thach Ca Phe)

This helpful page explained to me what went wrong the first time - How To Use Agar Powder

And this page does a good job of explaining agar agar and its properties - http://www.moleculargastronomynetwork.com/5-additives/Agar-agar.html

The mixture was also too soft, which made rolling difficult. I think there’s a bit too much water in the recipe, and the dash of Shaoxing cooking wine I added probably made it worse. I prefer a firmer egg, so I’ll reduce the water by a tablespoon next time.

A lot of tamagoyaki recipes include mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine). I don’t have any mirin, but I do have mijiu (Chinese rice wine), which is similar to sake, and you can make a mirin substitute with sake and sugar. I added a little over half a teaspoon of mijiu without sweetening it; there’s already enough sugar in the recipe.

Another challenge is that the mijiu I have is a “cooking wine”, which has an obscene amount of salt added to make it undrinkable and therefore legal for grocery store shelves. Even omitting the salt, I’m pretty sure I ended up with more than the pinch of salt the recipe calls for. The flavours balanced out in the end.

Recipe is here - Tamagoyaki (Grilled Rolled Egg)

A recipe that uses mirin is here (with step by step pictures) - Tamagoyaki or Atsuyaki Tamago, Japanese Sweet Omelette