Asian Market Soup

One of our favorite family "field trips" is a trip to the Asian Market in Plano.

Beautiful colors in the produce section

We always seem to come home with new foods and ingredients to try.

So many new foods to try!

I have always enjoyed Asian soups. The flavors are delightful and light. So armed with some shrimp, mushrooms, and Banh Canh noodles, I came up with this recipe. It was a hit!

Asian Market Soup

Serves 6

Click here for a printable version

1.5 pounds raw shrimp - peeled and deveined

8 green onions, washed and chopped

1 large thumb sized piece of ginger - 2/3 grated and 1/3 chopped

2 stalks lemon grass - remove rough outer stalks and finely chop tender inside

3 T olive oil

10 cups water

1 1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 T sugar

3/4 cup baby carrots chopped

2 - 3.5 oz. packs organic beech mushrooms - cut off of stem so pieces are 1-2 inches long

2 packages Vietnamese noodles (Banh Canh)

Smash 1 pound of the shrimp using the flat of your knife then roughly chop along with the white parts of the scallions and some salt and pepper until finely ground.  

Heat olive oil over high heat until shimmering. Cook ground up shrimp along with grated ginger and lemon grass until no longer pink and slightly browned…about 3 minutes.

 With heat still on high, add 10 cups of water and deglaze the pan. 

Season broth with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, lower heat add mushrooms and carrots and allow to simmer until carrots are crisp tender about 5 minutes. 

While soup is simmering - in a small frying pan cook remaining 1/2 pound of shrimp over low heat in olive oil with the chopped up ginger.  Cook until shrimp just barely turn pink.  Set aside to use to garnish each bowl of soup.

Add remaining chopped scallions (green parts) and banh canh noodles to the soup pot and continue to cook until noodles are slightly translucent. Remove from heat.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with your cooked whole shrimp/chopped ginger mixture.  Serve and enjoy!

*Instead of adding Vietnamese noodles you can add frozen chinese dumplings or potstickers and cook until heated through.

Fish Wrapped In Banana Leaves

Oh, this one is good!!!  I love using banana leaves to cook with, because they add a wonderful and unique herby almost tea like flavor to the food you wrap in them.  We also like to eat fish, but fish dishes often seem quite similar to one another and can be boring.  Not this one.  It is delightful.  You can find banana leaves in the freezer section of most any Asian market.  They cost under $1 at my store - and there are enough leaves to wrap 2 meals in.  I always keep a couple packs in my freezer.

Fish Wrapped in Banana Leaves

6 large banana leaves

2 fresh red chiles or 2 tsp chili paste

2 sticks lemon grass, outer leaves removed, centers finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 handfuls fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

2 limes, juiced and zested

1 can coconut milk

2 Tbs sesame oil

1 Tbs soy sauce

2 Tbs fresh ginger, finely sliced

6 pieces white fish (tilapia is what we usually use)

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Rinse banana leaves with water and pat dry.  Cut leaves into 10-12 inch sections.  To make banana leaves more pliable, hold for a few seconds over a gas flame.

3. Blend all ingredients except the fish and leaves in a food processor to make a thick paste. Spoon some on to each banana leaf. Place fish on top then spoon more paste over. Bring in sides of leaf and secure with a toothpick.

4. Place leaves on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

5. Serve with rice.  Any rice will do, but we prefer it with sweet rice (click here for the Sticky Rice with Bananas & Mangos recipe I used this time - it was super easy and wonderful!)

Now the last time I made this I was out of lemongrass (which I also buy lots of at my asian market, cut up and keep frozen), so I made it without the lemongrass and it still tasted wonderful!  However, it blended up more as a sauce than a paste without the lemongrass in it.

Baja Fish Tacos

I adore Baja Fish Tacos.  I could eat them twice a week and not get tired of them.  This recipe is based on the ones they serve at On The Border Restaurants - I almost always order them when I'm there.  The key to their wonderfulness is in the sauce - I have tinkered and toyed and adjusted until I have it just right.  Don't forget the fresh limes squeezed all over everything!

Baja Fish Tacos

16 small corn tortillas (flour works too)

1 box battered fish filets

2 cups  shredded cabbage

2 cups monteray jack/cheddar cheese blend, shredded

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

2 small tomatoes, diced and drained

1-2 limes, cut into wedges

Baja Sauce Recipe

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbs fresh squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1/2  teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cumin

1. Mix Baja Sauce ingredients together 2-4 hours before serving and refrigerate to let flavors meld.

2. Bake battered fish according to package directions until CRISP - don't underbake.  Let them cool at least 5 minutes then section each filet in half lengthwise.

3. To assemble tacos:  Lay out warmed tortillas.  On half of each tortilla -  place one piece of fish, spoon a generous strip of Baja Sauce alongside fish, sprinkle with cheese, add cabbage and tomatoes, sprinkle with cilantro, squeeze generously with the juice of one lime wedge, fold up other half of tortilla.

4. Serve & enjoy!