Thai sukiyaki

Last week I mentioned a blog where I found about 6 Asian dishes that I wanted to try, the first being red curry noodles with fish and peanuts. Today I'm trying another one of those meals: seafood and vegetable soup aka Thai Sukiyaki. The name of the dish can be misleading because this recipe prepares the ingredients all in one pot, instead of serving it hot pot style. Everything is prepared more like a stew instead of having people sit around dipping each of the ingredients in the broth and cooking what they desire. Nevertheless, the outcome was delicious!

Thai Sukiyaki

Recipe adapted from tesathome.com

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

50 gm firm tofu, cut into large chunks

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 cup sliced carrots

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp ginger, minced

3 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp chili sauce

2 bok choy, cut in half

a handful of celery leaves, roughly sliced

200 gm shrimp, peeled and deveined

100 gm squid, cut into bite size

4 oz glass noodles (mung bean noodles)

2 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. Saute tofu in a saute pan with oil over medium heat. Cook the tofu on all sides until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside. 
2. In a separate large pot, heat 1 tsp oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables including the onions, carrots, garlic and ginger. Saute the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the broth and cover the pot, bringing the liquid to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer.
3. Add the hoisin, oyster sauce, and chili sauce. Stir well and season according to taste.
4. Add the bok choy and celery leaves, cooking for 2 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
5. Add the seafood including the shrimp and squid and cook for another 3 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink. 
6. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook for about 7 minutes or until al dente. Remove from heat and rinse in cold water to stop the noodles from continuing to cook. Drain the noodles. Set aside.
7. Finish the soup but adding the beaten eggs. Stir well and allow the eggs to become velvety. To serve, potion the noodles into two bowl and top with the tofu. Ladle the soup with the broth. Serve immediately. 

Nutritional Analysis:
per serving: 589 calories, 9.3g fat (2.4g saturated, 2.4g polyunsaturated, 2.7g monounsaturated),  82.2g carbohydrates, 5.4g fiber, 41.9g protein

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

After looking at the original recipe, I decided to use the same ingredients but completely change the method. The method I used is the one written above. 

The original recipe said to pan-fry the tofu which I did as well. Make sure to use enough oil and a non stick skillet so the tofu doesn't stick to the pan.

I wanted a flavorful broth so I added onion, garlic and ginger and let the vegetables flavor the base. I believe this soup would also work with dashi instead of vegetable broth (I used chicken stock).

I seasoned the broth with a little bit of salt because it was a little on the bland side. Add the remaining ingredients and let it cook.

The eggs can make the broth look messy, but it contributes a hearty quality to the soup that makes it more satisfying. 

The original recipe said to add the noodles to the soup, but because I was serving a large amount of people at different lunch times, I wanted to keep the noodles separate. Mung bean noodles, just like other noodles, will absorb the liquid if left in the soup for a while.

This recipe seems very basic in the ingredients but the outcome is anything but! Another day of great compliments from a number of people today. The soup is savory yet slightly sweet with a hearty yet light quality. Make your own version of this soup with beef, chicken, pork, or vegetarian!