Chickpea Soup Doubles As A Dip

I have just made some chickpea soup which can also double up as a dip, so I thought I’d share it with you. I took some liberties with a traditional Greek dish and it seems I have created something that can be eaten as a heart-warming soup on chilly evenings (or days for that matter) and could also be served just as hummus is. It isn’t at all expensive to make, if you use dried chickpeas, rather than those that come in cans, and it’s certainly healthy. You can add fresh coriander to this dish for extra taste, and perhaps an inch of ginger root, minced, for its flavour and health-giving properties. Here it is: I hope you enjoy it! (In US English, chickpeas are garbanzo beans.)

Chickpea Soup

Continue reading “Chickpea Soup Doubles As A Dip”

Healthy and Delicious: Vegetable Minestrone

Vegetables are in no doubt the healthiest food in the planet. We all need a hefty serving of the food group everyday to keep out bodies healthy, well-functioning and to ward off diseases. Unfortunately, no matter the good benefits of vegetables, many of us have discriminating tastes that vegetables cannot surpass especially kids. They are the population who runs for their lives whenever their parents make them eat one.

So how do you make vegetables more pleasing to eat? Try making it into minestrone. Vegetable minestrone is an Italian dish that means the big soup in English loaded with tons of vegetable servings. It is a thick Italian soup heavily laden with healthy vegetables and often served with rice or pasta. It can be made like a full-pledge vegetarian with ingredients containing vegetables alone or for the carnivores you can add meat or meat-based broth for the soup. Continue reading “Healthy and Delicious: Vegetable Minestrone”

How Soups Are Energy Boosters?

One of the most loved comfort foods are soups. As winters are approaching one just needs a bowl of hot soup which brings in full energy to your body

The hot and scrumptious soups beat the cold wave simply with its steam. Soups can be made with meat, chicken and seafood which provides the much-needed protein in the form of broth which is the main or supplementary ingredient. The vegetables, herbs and spices which contain vitamins and anti-oxidants enrich soup with its medicinal properties. In fact, soups rich with herbs and ingredients are often prescribed to patients which can cure their illness or sickness. That’s why often chicken soup and vegetable soup is given to those who have cold and flu.

Broths are generally prepared by boiling specific ingredients which can suit your soup recipes. For preparing a chicken soup, there is need to boil either the whole chicken, its bones or just parts of the chicken. Vegetables like onion, carrots, ginger, and garlic can also added into the stock for some more flavor. In the same manner beef, fish and also vegetable stocks can be prepared. Some other ingredients that can be added to the whole soup include pasta or noodles which are common Asian style soups. Continue reading “How Soups Are Energy Boosters?”

Health Benefits of Lemon Grass

Lemon grass or the local tanglad (scientific name: Cymbopogon ciatrus) is one of those wondrous herbs that one can always associate with Asian cooking Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese homegrown meal enthusiasts always have this tropical grass at hand for its aromatic citrus flavor with a trace of ginger. Few people know that its other popular name is citronella – the common scent you usually find in candles, perfumes and soaps.

Citronella is known for its calming effect that relieves insomnia or stress. It is also considered as a mild insect repellant. But more than scent, tanglad or lemon grass provides a lot of health benefits. Studies have shown that the lemon grass has antibacterial and antifungal properties. Mixed with pepper, it’s a home therapy for menstrual troubles and nausea. Drank as tea, it is an effective diuretic. When it comes to pets, citronella is used to neutralize excessive barking of dogs. Since dogs hate citronella, it is sprayed to dogs to prevent them from barking or just to lessen the behavior. Continue reading “Health Benefits of Lemon Grass”

Make Oxtail Soup

Well, I seriously doubt that what is being sold as ‘ox tail’ in markets actually comes from an ox. I’m sure it comes from the same steers as all the other beef but it does sound odd to say, “steer tail,” or even “beef tail.” Obviously, it is one of those (pardon the expression) ‘odds and ends’ items and as such one might think it to be fairly inexpensive. This is not the case however, as it is sold at a premium price competing with other choice cuts. Clearly, there is good demand for oxtail.

For beef stock meat, oxtail is clearly the best by far. When cooking in large batches I’ll use bone and sinew, but for smaller pots oxtail is the meat of choice. It takes a full three hours to soften, with conventional stockpot additions. Clove-studded onion is de rigueur. The best thing of all about an oxtail stock is that it requires no further handling; it ready to ladle into bowls without any straining or modification. Continue reading “Make Oxtail Soup”

Delicious Soup Diets for Weight Loss

Many people fail to achieve their weight loss goals because they see weight loss as a tedious boring process that forces them to eat bland food. For weight loss to be effective you need to be creative about your diet, and finding delicious soup diets for weight loss is a way to do this. The road to losing weight shouldn’t be a dark and dreary one because if you stick to bland food items, the time will come when your interest will fade away and you won’t be able to sustain your plan. Embarking on a weight loss program doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to everything that tastes good, because there are ways to cook low-calorie diet food in a manner that’s delicious and appealing to the palate.

Soup diets are very common these days, because soup is a very effective way to satiate hunger without giving you all the unnecessary calories and fat. Soup is liquid-based, and liquid tends to work in filling up your stomach and tricking you into thinking that you’re already full. This is the same principle that works for the weight loss tip of drinking a lot of water. There are times when we think we’re hungry and we end up eating too much when in fact, we’re only thirsty. Drinking water before a meal works in the same way as eating soup before a meal – it satiates hunger and makes us eat less of the meal in front of us. Just because soup can help you lose weight doesn’t mean it has to taste bland. There are several soup diets for weight loss that have been formulated with taste in mind. Continue reading “Delicious Soup Diets for Weight Loss”

What Makes Tofu Shirataki Noodles?

I’m sure you’ve heard about the rave. Tofu Shiratake Noodles seems the next best thing to miracle food. But you’re skeptical. They cannot be all good. They claim to be low in carbohydrates, low in fat, high in fiber and a sure fire way to lose some weight. But are they really that good for you? We took a look at answering the most frequently asked questions about these tofu noodles.

Where do these noodles come from?

These noodles are a stable dietary staple of the Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese populations. It is produced in countries where the main ingredient the voodoo lily is easily grown.

Asians Eat weird things, what are these noodles made from? Continue reading “What Makes Tofu Shirataki Noodles?”

The Vientiane Baguette – A Culinary Journey of Laos

The baguette, a delightful culinary legacy of the French is unavoidable in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Especially in Laos, baguettes are everywhere; sold at stalls, off of bicycles, bakeries, and vegetable markets. Baked in brick ovens using firewood, the baguette in Vientiane is particularly good and true to the old French culinary style. And fresh-a Lao baguette doesn’t have any preservatives so day old bread is usually fed to the pigs.

In Vientiane, a baguette means a sandwich. Traditionally, it starts with a French baguette and can be filled with almost anything. For breakfast, you can have an omelet baguette; for lunch a tuna baguette. But the most authentic is the pate and cheese. Unlike the Vietnamese, the Lao will fill the baguette with 3 types of pork filling: a pate, a luncheon meat, and stewed pork leg. This delectable sandwich is made by smearing on the pate and mayonnaise then toasted and topped with more slices of meat, pickled carrots, daikon radishes, cucumber, cilantro, and Chinese celery. Continue reading “The Vientiane Baguette – A Culinary Journey of Laos”

Pho – The Best Hangover Cure?

Amongst many circles, the Vietnamese noodle soup Pho (pronounced Fuh), is heralded as the best hangover cure known to mankind. What do we say? Pho shizzle.

Pho is a magical soup made of beef, broth and rice noodles. Seriously, its magic. I’ll explain later. It is served in a bowl with thin cuts of well done or rare steak. For the more adventurous sort, tripe (stomach), tendons, liver, chicken hearts, or other risky business can be added. The broth is made from a simmered concoction of which only a level 50 Vietnamese wizard may be privy to the secret.

Pho is typically served with lime, been sprouts, basil, and jalapenos. Sauces like sweet hoisin or spicy siracha can be directly added to the broth. This is where the fun comes in. The best thing about Pho is its “choose your own adventure” aspect. During the course of your soup journey, you can change the flavor of the broth, making it a dynamic experience. Continue reading “Pho – The Best Hangover Cure?”

Fish Salad – A Memorable Dish in Danang

If your Vietnam Tour adventure brings you to Danang, then you’re in the right place. Not only was it an educational and commercial center of Central Vietnam, it also lies within 100 kilometers of the best sites and places you can visit in this country. Several UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the ruins of My Son, Hoi An Old Town and the Imperial City of Hue are easily accessible from this natural transportation hub which you will visit one by one on your booked Vietnam Tours.

But perhaps, the most memorable experience you can have in this fabulous city is a taste of their exotic dish called “Goi Ca” or fish salad. You might have heard of this when you have booked your best Vietnam Tours package and you might even have a taste of it back in your accommodation. But if you have tasted a fish salad that features sliced tomatoes all mangled with lettuce leaves that are already flaccid; and served with a few slices of tuna and some small prawns all swimming in mayonnaise, then you haven’t tasted the real thing! Fact is you have tasted the commercial offerings which you can safely call the “Westernized” version. If you want to taste the real Vietnam Goi Ca, then go to Man Thai Beach along Son Tra Peninsula in Danang. Continue reading “Fish Salad – A Memorable Dish in Danang”