I have the ingredients, now I need a recipe!
March 21, 2010 11:01 AM Subscribe
What do I do with lemongrass, mushrooms and soup greens?
When I cook, I usually shop according to recipe, so I'm not used to cobbling together something from what I have in the fridge. But there's enough food in there to feed an army! And I'm not a very good cook. Please help me compose something delicious with the following:
Must haves, because they'll go off otherwise:
- 3 stalks of lemongrass
- half a kilogram of white mushrooms
- a bundle of greens for soup (two carrots, one yellow carrot, one parsley root etc.)
Optional (also in fridge):
Ground beef
turkey hen breast
Speck cubes
dried shrimps
taters
onions/garlic
raisins and dried plums
yoghurt
Thai staples (coconut milk, galangal, ginger, chili peppers, cilantro and Thai basil etc.)
And I guess I could always buy other stuff, but I do want to use up what's in the fridge, first. Ideally, I'm looking for something that takes no longer than 1,5 hours to prepare. Thanks for the help!
When I cook, I usually shop according to recipe, so I'm not used to cobbling together something from what I have in the fridge. But there's enough food in there to feed an army! And I'm not a very good cook. Please help me compose something delicious with the following:
Must haves, because they'll go off otherwise:
- 3 stalks of lemongrass
- half a kilogram of white mushrooms
- a bundle of greens for soup (two carrots, one yellow carrot, one parsley root etc.)
Optional (also in fridge):
Ground beef
turkey hen breast
Speck cubes
dried shrimps
taters
onions/garlic
raisins and dried plums
yoghurt
Thai staples (coconut milk, galangal, ginger, chili peppers, cilantro and Thai basil etc.)
And I guess I could always buy other stuff, but I do want to use up what's in the fridge, first. Ideally, I'm looking for something that takes no longer than 1,5 hours to prepare. Thanks for the help!
Best answer: You have everything for a great Tom Kha Kai, using turkey instead of chicken.
posted by slow graffiti at 11:26 AM on March 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by slow graffiti at 11:26 AM on March 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Watch Jacques Pepin on PBS- I'm sure it is harder than it looks, but he has done this kind of thing and it comes out looking delicious.
(I don't know what lemongrass tastes like, so you'll have to guess on that one.)
Chop and sautee the soup greens. Dump in some water/broth/stock. Bring to boil. Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms. If it seems like they need it, sautee them. When the carrots are the consistency you like, turn off the heat. Dump in the lemongrass and mushrooms. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper (and any other spices that seem like they might taste good) to taste. You now have light mushroom soup. A (potentially) delicious side to the rest of the stuff in the fridge.
If it fails, you haven't lost much. But gained some experience.
(Since the mushrooms seem to be the more expensive/valuable thing, I would base the proportions on how much mushroom you have. Just guess based on other things you have eaten in the past that tasted good.)
(Also, when deciding how much water to use, use less than you might think. That way if it tastes too strong, you can water it down. Much easier than taking water out if the flavor is too light.)
posted by gjc at 11:28 AM on March 21, 2010
(I don't know what lemongrass tastes like, so you'll have to guess on that one.)
Chop and sautee the soup greens. Dump in some water/broth/stock. Bring to boil. Meanwhile, chop the mushrooms. If it seems like they need it, sautee them. When the carrots are the consistency you like, turn off the heat. Dump in the lemongrass and mushrooms. Let it steep for 5-10 minutes. Salt and pepper (and any other spices that seem like they might taste good) to taste. You now have light mushroom soup. A (potentially) delicious side to the rest of the stuff in the fridge.
If it fails, you haven't lost much. But gained some experience.
(Since the mushrooms seem to be the more expensive/valuable thing, I would base the proportions on how much mushroom you have. Just guess based on other things you have eaten in the past that tasted good.)
(Also, when deciding how much water to use, use less than you might think. That way if it tastes too strong, you can water it down. Much easier than taking water out if the flavor is too light.)
posted by gjc at 11:28 AM on March 21, 2010
http://gastronomist.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/soup-shiitake-lemongrass-miso/
Sounds like you know how to cook so get some miso paste, and improvise on this recipe. I made this for a party starter once, and it was a big hit.
posted by hariya at 12:29 PM on March 21, 2010
Sounds like you know how to cook so get some miso paste, and improvise on this recipe. I made this for a party starter once, and it was a big hit.
posted by hariya at 12:29 PM on March 21, 2010
Response by poster: I should mark all of these, as they're pretty brilliant. But I think I'll give the Tom Kha Kai a shot, it's tickled my fancy. Thank you for helping me!
posted by Omnomnom at 2:06 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by Omnomnom at 2:06 PM on March 21, 2010
Depending on the color of your chilis, you could whip together a red or green curry pretty quickly (basics would involve minced lemongrass, galangal, chili, and if you have them, lime leaves, but you can add other things, like garlic or ginger). Warm some oil in the pan, then add the spices. Then add some chunks of turkey, and saute until they are coated in the spices, and firmer than raw (you don't want to cook them all the way through just yet). Then add a bunch of sliced mushrooms. You always want to saute mushrooms you're going to add to a soup or curry before you add the liquid. Boiled mushrooms taste raw, while sauteed mushrooms taste like happiness. Once the mushrooms have cooked a bit, add some coconut milk, and simmer until the turkey is done.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:14 PM on March 21, 2010
posted by Ghidorah at 5:14 PM on March 21, 2010
Best answer: You should bookmark Recipe Puppy. It's even a mefi project!
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:52 AM on March 22, 2010
posted by sonic meat machine at 5:52 AM on March 22, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by lexicakes at 11:08 AM on March 21, 2010