Did you know that every culture has its own broth stories and ancestral recipes?
Did you know that every culture has its own broth stories and ancestral recipes?
And to convince you, Mon Bouillon takes you to Asia... Where you'll always find a broth and noodle-based dish on the menu, with different titles depending on the country.
For example, the Japanese love Dashi (see recipe), a broth made from dried ingredients, but they also offer Ramen.
In Vietnam, Pho is no longer a dish in need of introduction (in fact, you'll find a delicious recipe for Pho Ga below).
And what about the Thai broth scented with lemongrass? !
And the Chinese? They too have a story to tell about "noodles that cross the bridge"...
Its origins remain uncertain. The most widespread hypothesis places its origin in Mengzi, during the reign of the Qing dynasty.
According to legend, a student isolated himself on a small island to prepare for the imperial exams, and every day his wife brought him his meals.
Access to the island was via a long bridge, and the food was always cold when the student received it. But one day when she had prepared a chicken soup, she realized that the dish was still warm after the crossing, the chicken fat having retained the dish's heat.
From that day on, she got into the habit of preparing a chicken broth and bringing along the other ingredients, including rice noodles, which she added to the broth once across the bridge, so that her husband could eat hot meals.
Once the exams were over, word of the woman's dedication and ingenuity spread, and the name "rice noodles across the bridge" became popular, with the recipe improving over time.
But the story doesn't say whether the student passed his exams!?
Dashi Express broth recipe (Recipe for 2L of Dashi broth) :
Pour the water into a large saucepan. Add theKombu seaweed. Heat over low heat for 1 hour, uncovered, to maintain a temperature of 60-65°.
Remove the kombu seaweed from the water, bring to the boil and immediately turn down the heat to low. Add the bonito flakes to the water and wait for them to sink (this may take a few minutes). Remove them as soon as they touch the bottom of the pan.
Your broth is ready! You can eat it as is, or use it as a base for ramen or miso soup.
Recipe for Pho Ga from South Vietnam (traditional Vietnamese chicken broth):
1 fresh chili pepper or red chili paste(gochujang)
Rice vermicelli
Preparation:
Peel the onion and ginger. Cut into pieces. In a wok or large saucepan, sauté until the onion is golden. Add the spices (cinnamon, star anise, coriander seeds) and sauté for about 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
Pour the water into a saucepan and add the whole chicken, vinegar, spices, onion, ginger and nuoc-mâm. Bring to the boil and turn the heat straight down to minimum. Skim off the foam and simmer for 4 hours.
When the time is up, remove the chicken and strain the stock through a colander. Bone the chicken completely, keeping the pieces.
Chop all the herbs (coriander, basil, spring onions).
Heat the filtered stock in a saucepan until slightly simmering, then place over low heat. Add the scampi and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the scampi and set aside in a bowl.
Add a handful of rice vermicelli to the still-warm broth for a few minutes, until they soften.
Drain and place the vermicelli in a plate or bowl with a large handful of bean sprouts. Add crumbled chicken pieces, 3 scampi, spring onions and 1 or 2 ladles of stock.
Add coriander, basil, lime and red pepper to taste...
