Short'n'sweet post: Hot'n'Sour Soup

Too much cooking, too much to write about, not enough time! Guess I first need to catch up on posts before starting work on the new look for 2008.

Winter begs for warm comforting food. For me, that often translates to soups - thick chowders and bisques are often the norm, but every once in a while a lighter soup makes me quite happy. In lieu of the continuing green craze, this soup is along the lines of the yummy sweet'n'sour soup we used to eat at Cascade in Madras. A ton of shredded cabbage, onions, some corn kernels, some spices, that's about all it took. I will admit that freshly roasting and grinding the spices made a *huge* impact on the flavor of the soup!

Hot'n'Sour Soup
That indo-chinese favourite!

Servings: 4

1 small cabbage - cut into long shreds
1 bunch of scallions - chopped
1 cup of corn kernels
2 T grated ginger
5-6 cloves garlic - crushed
2 T soy sauce
2 cups of vegetable broth
3 cups of water
5 T white vinegar
1 t freshly ground white pepper
1 T ground mix of cloves, cinnamon, star anise, fennel
1 T canola oil
salt
4-5 fresh red chillies - sliced lengthwise

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the scallions, ginger and garlic till they start to brown.
Add the cabbage and cook covered on low for 5-6 minutes till the cabbage starts to wilt.
Add the corn, broth and water along with all the spices.
Cook covered for another 10-12 minutes.
Add the soy sauce and vinegar and stir for 1-2 minutes.
Top the soup with lightly toasted red chillies before serving.

What did we think?

*Very* good! Especially if it feels like we're sitting at Cascade slurping the soup there :)