Uji's Special Soto Ayam

During my latest trip back home to Malaysia, my sister-in-law was raving about the Soto Ayam prepared by Uji, her domestic help from Indonesia. Uji was kind enough to show me how she made this dish and let me photograph her. She tells me unlike the Soto Ayam that was commonly served in Malaysia, in Indonesia, the Soto Ayam soup is served over plain white rice or clear noodles. In Malaysia, Soto Ayam soup is served over compressed rice cakes called nasi impit or ketupat, or with yellow noodles. She had no exact quantities for the ingredients and I was fine with that. I wanted to capture the spirit of the dish. I will refine it recipe along the way and quantity the ingredients. For now, I just want to have a record of the cooking session.

Be warned, this is a lengthy post as I included almost all the pictures I took of the cooking session. A picture is worth a thousand words and I need them to recreate this wonderful dish

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

My daughter L is sitting a little under the weather was wanting soup. We had bought a huge bag of broccoli from Costco with every intention of making Panera Bread wanna be Broccoli Cheddar Soup!! The Crusty No Knead Bread I made last night was begging to be dipped in the soup.

It was quite good although we lighten it up a bit since we were having not just one bowl of soup! Instead of the 2 cups of half and half, I use 1 cup each of whole milk and 1 cup of half and half. I have even use just whole milk and have been happy with it. Just nothing less than whole milk.

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup

Husband was away. The dishwasher broke down. It just refused to drain. Finally after cleaning the filter and running the dishwasher for 3 cycles, I gave up and called the repairman. No appointment until Tuesday, after Labor Day!. Decided on a Wednesday appointment as Tuesday being the first day of school can be trying. Who knows what will happen that day.

To top it all, I suddenly develop a hacking cough. My throat is irritated. Sucked on cough drops. No relief. Took Robitussin, still coughing. Now, I am up at nights as I keep coughing when I am lying down. Have to sit up to sleep. Totally exhausted. Cannot wait for husband to come home so I can collapse without guilt.

What do I eat? Listless, i just want something soupy. I am thinking of my favorite dish at Korean Restaurant- Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup. So I retrieve 2 cornish hens from the freezer and thaw them. Rummage through my now sadly depleted fridge because I have not been grocery shopping. Find some garlic and ginger I need. No scallions but who cares! The pantry does not produce any glutinous rice but I do have some sushi rice. That will have to do. I find some sliced ginseng and also capsules of ground ginseng that I can use. Of course, I do not have the red dates needed. But visions of slupping the hot ginseng chicken soup pushes me on. How hard can this be? I have eaten this soup so many times. At worst it will be a good chicken soup.

I cleaned and washed the Cornish hens. Mixed the sushi rice with some of the powdered ginseng. Spoon in some of the sushi rice,sliced ginseng, ginger and garlic into the cavity. Seal it up with a pin (saved from bacon wrapped Fillet Mignon). You can use skewer or toothpicks.Put the prepared Cornish Hens into my pressure cooker. Put in enough water to cover chicken. Bring the pressure cooker to high pressure. Once pressure is reached, lower flame, maintain pressure and cook for 30 minutes. Voila, Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup or at least a fair version with my limited pantry. It saved me!!!

I know, Ah Khor will probably say it is too "heaty" with my sore throat. Sadly, I am the most ignorant of all my siblings when it comes to Chinese remedies or medicine. Always been hearty so was never feed chinese remedies as far as I can remember. Did not have the influence of my mother in law or older generations as I have lived abroad for almost 20 years now. So I muddle along as I please. At that moment, I needed my Ginseng Chicken fix. Besides, my son loves the soup too! One for each of us, how perfect!

NB
Husband is home and suggest I take Sudafed PE nasal decongestant. But I tell him I do not have a runny nose and I am not congested. He tells me that it happened to him before and the doctor told him that it was a nasal drip causing the irritation. So I take it. Fitful sleeping up to about 3 am coughing every now and then finally sleep. Wake up and I am a lot better. Looks like Dr.Quack may know a thing or two. Feeling a lot better today. Dear husband just drove me to get the night version of Sudafed PE so that I can sleep tonight. I guess I slept last night from pure exhaustion.