Asian Soup Cultures (2/3)

Two types of bean curd are widely used in Japanese cookery, Kinu, or silken bean curd, and momen, or cotton bean curd. As the names suggest, Kinu tofu has a very smooth, silky texture, whereas momen tofu is characterized by its more solid, coarser appearance and feel. It is kinu dofu that is usually used in miso soups. Miso Soup With Wakame Seaweed And Onion In Japan this soup is served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, when it is accompanied by a main dish and a bowl of rice. Unlike Western soups, Japanese soup is sipped from the bowl, with any pieces of vegetable or tofu being eaten with chopsticks. -------------------------------- ---------------- --------------------------------- --------------------- Japanese O-Zoni -- New Year's Miso Soup With Rice Cake I've got to give this soup a big wow. It may not be easy to find the pounded rice cakes, looking like opaque white blocks in clear plastic packaging, but they're worth searching out. You take off the plastic wrap; stick the block under a broiler, turning on all sides as it blackens like a marshmallow at a cookout; and you've got yourself a sticky, runny, yummy hunk of molten, crispy rice. It's wonderful at the bottom of a bowl of dashi with some chicken and leeks thrown in: The perfect way to bring in the "new year," whether that means January 1 or the more proper lunar calendar "end of winter and time for spring planting" Osho gatsu festival when you leave ill luck behind and craft a new beginning for yourself. The mochi rice cakes date back to the early 9th century, Heian-cho times, when they signified health, rebirth, vitality, and resurrection. Shinnen akemashite, o-medeto gozaimase! or "The New Year has dawned, indeed a matter for congratulation." Serve this soup hot to 4 people to kick off a whole new year of life. -------------------------------- ---------------- --------------------------------- ---------------------------------- Southeast Asian Soup Culture Lemon grass is one of the most common herbs in Southeast Asia cooking. It is known as ``takrai'' in Thailand, ``sereh'' in Indonesia and ``xah'' (pronounced zah) in Vietnam. It also grows in Australia, Africa, South America, Florida and California. Lemon grass has a delicate flavor and scent and is used like bay leaves in Western cooking, to infuse a sauce, a soup or a curry with its flavor.'' Availability: Lemon grass is available year round in most Asian markets and the produce section of several local supermarkets. Lemon grass grows in long, pale green stalks that have a woody texture and lemony scent. It is shaped like a green onion but is stiff. Chinese Soups Yin & Yang Soups for everyday meals in China are often simple broths made from meat bones and vegetables or pickles. Designed to help one digest food, these are often served with the meal (acting as the beverage) or toward the end of the meal, even poured over that customary last bowl of rice. They're never served first--because you'd be filled up too fast--and they're always served by bringing small bowls of it to the table. By contrast, if the soup is slightly thickened (usually with cornstarch) and contains some fine ingredients--like hot and sour soup--it will be served as a course in itself toward the beginning of the meal. And it's brought to the table in a big bowl--ladled out to everyone there--so you know for sure it's a main course. It is specifically designed to stimulate the appetite for the rest of the meal. However, these thickened soups can also aspire higher--leaping over everyday status to banquet status to the degree that they contain precious foods. Soups that feature the precious shark's fin or bird nest, for example, will be moved to the middle of the meal, symbolizing their role as centerpiece of the meal. Otherwise, light soups will be served in small cups throughout the banquet as palate cleansers between courses and to signify the end of a series of courses.