Monday, March 10, 2014

Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup

Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup

Fight colds with this Hot and Sour Thai-seasoned Turkey, Carrot, and Rice Egg Drop Soup

Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts



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When I was in nursing school, in a previous life, Hot and Sour Soup became my magical cure-all for any bugs picked up at the hospital that threatened to take me down.  I'd swing by my favorite Chinese restaurant and pick up a quart when I first felt a tickle in my throat, and usually by the time I'd consumed the container I was right as rain.

Of course I've moved far away from that restaurant, and had good and not as good Hot and Sour Soups in the intervening lives years.


Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts


This soup is emphatically NOT a traditional version of Chinese Restaurant Hot and Sour Soup.  Instead, it's got the hot and sour-ness that I crave when I'm sick, coupled with the consistency of egg drop soup that soothes my throat, along with carrots and rice that comfort me like a good bowl of chicken soup should.  Except this is made with a turkey carcass.  Yes, part of my Thanksgiving turkey carcass if you must know.

This is an excellent reason to save your Thanksgiving turkey carcass in your freezer until you're ready for it.  No sense wasting it on some day-after-Thanksgiving soup when you've got amazing leftovers still in the fridge.  No, save that turkey carcass, along with the bits and bobs of vegetables collected in your Soup Pack, for a Real Need.

I made this soup while in Real Need for Soup.  While I was sharing sunny orange recipes here during HashtagOrangeWeek recently, I was sneezing and hacking my way around the Disney World Parks in Florida.  As if being sick wasn't enough, we traveled to/from Florida in a plane and my ears went wrong shortly after take off and still weren't right a week after returning home.  Add to all of the above I had a cough that made me gag and, well, if you've had kids then you know there are . . . consequences . . . when you are walking around having coughing attacks.  So there I am at Disney, sneezing, coughing, and consequencing all over the place, and hoping to survive the flight home so I could make soup. /rant

Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts


Thanking again my well-stocked pantry, I slept in (love my bed) and started this soup the day after I got home.  I was inspired by Lydia's Quick and Easy Hot and Sour Soup with Tofu, Shiitake Mushrooms and Noodles and Tyler Florence's Hot and Sour Soup. Now, normally I like the hands off approach of slow cooker soup stock, throwing everything into the crock pot for a day/night before straining and using.  And while that technique is awesome, there is one drawback--in a slow cooker you don't get the flavor concentration from evaporation like you do in an uncovered stock pot on the stove top.  I cooked this stock for 4 hours on the stove top, until it was reduced by about half [and took a picture so you could see**] then called it good.  Using mostly fridge and freezer items I threw together the rest of the soup, snapped some more photos, and we enjoyed a late lunch.  I was fortified for the rest of the day. And then a few more thanks to the awesome leftovers.


Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts


If you're looking for the cold-busting properties of a bowl of hot and sour soup, the consistency of egg drop soup, the comfort of a poultry-filled carrot and rice soup--this recipe is for you.


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Note:  If you don't have a turkey carcass, you can simmer the Thai spices and leeks with prepared chicken broth for 30 minutes then keep on going with the soup. I'd leave out the salt, though, until you're ready to finish the soup as I never know how salted prepared chicken broth can be.


Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts
Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts
Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts
Ignore the corn starch--once I did the egg drop thing I didn't need it.

NOTE: This recipe is not gluten free as written, because I used soy sauce. To adapt this recipe for a gluten free diet please substitute tamari, coconut aminos, or another gluten free soy sauce substitute.
Check labels to confirm that your other ingredients are also gluten free. Good sources for determining gluten free products can be found here:
http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/
http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/
http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients for the Thai turkey stock (4 hours, or overnight in a slow cooker)

  • ½ turkey carcass
  • 2 Tablespoons lemongrass
  • 2 Tablespoons galangal
  • 2 Tablespoons kaffir lime leaves
  • 2 Tablespoons Thai basil leaves
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped leeks (or onions, or shallots, what you've got)

Instructions to make the Thai turkey stock

  1. In a large heavy bottomed pot (I use my 7 quart pretty purple pot--Amazon affiliate link) combine turkey carcass (frozen solid is just fine), Thai spices, peppercorns, salt and leeks (coincidentally, they were frozen as well--very productive fat and sassy leeks from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share so I sliced and froze them when I was overwhelmed).  Cover with water.  
  2. Bring to a slow simmer over medium high heat, and simmer for 4 hours until liquid is reduced by half as shown below.  Strain stock in a colander.  You'll need 2 quarts for the soup.

Ingredients for the soup (takes 30 minutes once you've got the stock made)

  • 2 quarts Thai turkey stock
  • ½ cup jasmine rice (we just watched Aladdin, so I want to capitalize Jasmine)
  • 1 ½ cups finely shredded carrot
  • 2 teaspoons ginger (I use paste)
  • 3 cloves roasted garlic, smashed (here's how I roast and put up my garlic crop)
  • ¼ cup soy sauce (or soy sauce equivalent of your choice)
  • ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)
  • 1 and ½ teaspoons sriracha (or more to taste)
  • 2 cups chopped turkey meat
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • cilantro for garnish

Instructions to make the Thai Turkey Hot & Sour Egg Drop Soup

  1. In a slightly smaller pot (or, you know, wash the big one if you feel up to it) combine 2 quarts turkey stock, rice, carrot, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, turmeric, salt, pepper, and sriracha.  
  2. Stir in turkey. Simmer for 30 minutes.  Taste and see if you need more salt, more pepper, or more heat from the sriracha and adjust the seasonings accordingly.  
  3. When it tastes right to you, remove the pot from the heat and stir it to get the soup spinning in one direction.  While stirring, pour the beaten egg in a thin stream into the soup.  
  4. The heat will cook it pretty much instantly, and render the consistency of the soup thicker, like egg drop soup. Yum!  Serve with fresh cilantro.


Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup | Farm Fresh Feasts
**Reduced by half.
Other soups you may be interested in:
Flu Fighter Chicken Stock from Everyday Maven
Thai-inspired Vegetable Soup from Clean Eats Fast Feets
Thai-inspired Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (by me)

This post is shared with Tasty TuesdaysWhat's Cookin' WednesdayFresh Foods WednesdayFrom the Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop

26 comments:

  1. Hi Kirsten, it's been a while, seems like we lost touch with each other ever since What's In The Box? stopped running. A lot has happened since then on my own blog. I now host a blog party of my own. It's called Fiesta Friday and I would love for you to join the party. Mix and mingle a little with us WordPresser. We could use a dose of your humor (I've always enjoyed your "tongue in cheek" writing style) and your serious recipes! Give us a chance! :-)
    xoxo, Angie@thenovicegardener

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angie,
      I'm delighted to hear your update--great idea for a Friday blog party, I'll come check it out.
      Thanks!

      Delete
  2. This looks so full of flavor, really love that Thai Turkey Stock you came up with, definitely need to give this a try! YUM!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pamela,
      This soup sure is a keeper. I've been eating a lot of soups this weekend (I took my folks to a Hot Soups for a Cool Cause) the other night and sampled 8 of the 10 offerings. I could go for a bowl of this, too. Thanks!

      Delete
  3. I try to make a new soup as often as I can. Looking forward to making this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like soups too--and it's so terrific how they taste even better the next day.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. A whole new world...a new fantastic point of view. Dammit, you had to mention Aladdin didn't you.
    I've never had hot and sour soup or egg drop soup, but I do have these spices (thanks to you) and a tentative willingness to try new things. My Dad was shocked I had Tikka Masala sauce on hand and that I actually used it a couple of weeks ago. More thanks to you. I will be trying this one for sure, and I hope you are finally feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meghan,
      I really don't want to freak out your dad--he could take me down, I'm sure.
      But yes, you could totally rock a vegetarian (or vegan+egg) version of this!

      Delete
  5. Yes! Whenever one of us is sick it's time to bust out the ginger and bold spices. I swear they are so healing. This sounds wonderful (sick or not), I hope you're feeling better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Abby,
      Thank you--I'm feeling just ducky now, and ready for Spring!

      Delete
  6. This looks so delicious! I love the flavors of Thai soup and it's probably my husband's favorite way to eat soup. Thank you so so much for linking up to From the Farm Blog Hop : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angela,
      I have to admit I'm delighted with the taste and texture--my first time making the egg drop part and wow does that add the body that I appreciate in a soup. Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Wow, Kirsten, this looks fabulous! I'm saving this recipe so my daughter and I can make it--yum! Also, I'm choosing this post as my favorite for the From the Farm blog hop next Friday, so make sure you drop by and see your post in the faves, and I know you won't forget to link up!

    See you then!
    Kristi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kristi,
      I hope you and your daughter enjoy making this--it's pretty easy and tastes so wonderful. Please let me know how you make it your own!
      Thanks for the feature--it is always appreciated!

      Delete
  8. Soup is the FIRST THING I reach for when I'm ill. Then a big box of orange juice with extra juicy bits. (That's what the Brits call pulp lol). Your soup looks absolutely DELICIOUS! Because we skipped Thanksgiving this year & were in America for Christmas, I don't have a turkey carcass in my freezer. :( It's a shame because I WANT THIS SOUP NOW! And I don't want to use shop bought stock. I want that homemade taste. I do have chicken bones & wing tips ... guess that'll have to do. :) Thanks for sharing at Tasty Tuesdays! Pinned, stumbled & featuring you tomorrow :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anyonita,
      Somehow "extra juicy bits" means something different to me than pulp, but okay! I ended up with a couple of turkey carcasses because I saw a marked down cooked breast, so I still have half a carcass in my freezer--along with 2 quarts of stock! Chicken will work just fine.
      Thanks for the feature!

      Delete
  9. I love different soup recipes, my hubby loves hot and sour soup, I bet he would love the flavors in this! I would love to invite you to share your recipe at my linky party, Meal Planning Monday Recipe Link-Up. Happy St. Patrick's Day! :) http://www.aprilshomemaking.com/2014/03/meal-planning-monday-recipe-link-up-2.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. April,
      I enjoy link ups--thanks for inviting me!

      Delete
  10. Congratulations!! Your recipe has been featured at Tasty Tuesdays 53 on my blog, Lori's Culinary Creations. Thank you for linking up such a delicious recipe that will help knock this cold right out of my system.

    Link----> http://bit.ly/1gy1xBO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lori,
      Thanks for the feature--it's much appreciated!
      I hope you are feeling better.

      Delete
  11. I can't wait to try some of your soups, especially the Thai Cold Busting Hot and Sour soup. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy,
      Thanks--and I've got another good soup coming up if you like grilled cheese and tomato soup.

      Delete
  12. I don't like turkey unless it's wild (and I don't mean the booze! Lol). I can find stewing hens at my local Asian market for a really cheap. They're actually a product of the US. These retired gals are scrawny and were bred just to be egg layers. If you can find them, they make excellent stock! And if they're cooked correctly, the meat is quite tasty. It's like they have to be handled "just right"...low temp is the best way, as in slow cooker. They also are perfect for coq au vin! I always pick some of the meat off for my cats. They love it and I'm sure if I my old dog was still around , she'd be drooling as I prepped this. Ha! RIP Rosie, cats Dede and Gracie...gone but never forgotten!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Paizley,
      Sounds like you treated your critters well!
      You've reminded me that the egg guy who works with my CSA farmers mentioned he'd have some spent hens if I was interested. And I am--I've made stock with a laying hen from Polyface and the flavor was wonderful.
      Now that I've got a pressure canner I will investigate getting those old girls.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  13. Kirsten, fab dish - has gone straight onto my shortlist for a feature. Cheers from CArole's Chatter

    ReplyDelete