Sunday, October 25, 2020

A Very Orange broth

Someone asked me about Sotanghon. My brothers and friends used to call it Sotengwan hahaha. The secret to any soup is the stock and I get mine each time I buy a whole chicken Take away the backs and ass and What do you do with the chicken backs and ass? These parts yield very little meat and a lot more fat and skin resides in these parts. You'd be lucky if you get it down to 50 / 50, meat and fat (including skin). But a frugal cook makes use of everything. I even use the trimmings from the chicken breast because you just can take all that meat out. ONce its cooked and you're happy with the flavor just take the chicken out, let it cool, and pick the meat from your bones i small onion half a small carrot and a stalk of celery in a stock pot where all the chicken parts are and top up with water about two inches from the top of the pot under a low flame (this keeps the stock clear) and afte 1 couple of hours you can salt and pepper to taste. Sotanghon is a mung bean based noodle that is translucent and holds up very well despite intense cooking It manages to keep a texture with some amount of bite not to mention the ability to retain heat. You dont need a lot and for 4 just a fist size quantity will go a long way 6 cups of stock The trimmed chicken meat from the stock 100 gms dry vermicelli (sotanghon) 1 tbsp onion leeks chopped fine 1 tbsp minced garlic chips 1 med onion 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp annato seeds (atsuete) 1/4 cup oil A medium soup pot This blog title tells it all. Take your pot and set over a medium flame. Drop the annato seeds in and allow to simmer in the oil until it releases color to almost a bright deep red then fish out the seeds. Sautee onions and garlic in the same oil until fragrant and translucent. Follow that wit the shredded chicken meat until heated through. As the sizzle becomes consistent pour 3/4 of the stock in and allow to boil then turn the flame down. You can drop the vermicelli in and let it cook for about 5-8 minutes Test it if you like the texture, it's ready to serve.
In a small bowl garnish with chopped sprint onion and garlic chips. It couldn't be easier. As it cools the noodles will absorb some liquid so just add on broth as you like.