I love thick creamy soups that are full of natural flavor. A vegetarian supplement is essential and I wanted to prepare it in the form of a soup.
I usually find soup recipes have some cream added for more flavor but this Carrot soup recipe was easy to make without the cream, a delicious soup that can be enjoyed all year round.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time:25- 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Olive oil / butter – 2 tbsp
Carrots – 325 g / 4 medium, roughly chopped into 1 inch after peeling
Potato – 100 g/1 small, peeled & chopped
Pepper – 1 tsp
Salt – as per taste
Water – refer below
Directions
1. Heat olive oil in a medium, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add chopped carrots and potatoes, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 10 minutes until they are almost soft. Turn off the heat and let it cool.
2. Once they have cooled. Place the carrots & potatoes in a blender with 1 cup water to make a smooth paste.
3. Transfer it into the same heavy bottomed pan you used earlier.
It’s lovely exploring different cultures through food especially the Chinese food. I like Chinese food a lot and we have a lot of restaurants here that provide incredible food. Chinese wontons are commonly served which made me plan on making them at home as I was curious on how it would turn out.
Did you know that there is a difference between a wonton and a dumpling? I always thought they were the same! As I did some research I got to know the difference. A wonton skin is thinner than dumpling. It has a filling of pork or sometimes shrimp which is boiled and served as a soup whereas a dumpling is steamed, sometimes served with or without soup.
Finding a wanton wrapper was easy for me. At the grocery store it was available in the refrigerator section. If you have trouble finding them at your local grocery store look into the Asian/Chinese stores. They are found in round and square shapes mostly frozen I believe. I used the square wanton wrapper to give a desired shape while filling it with pork mince. Check out the video below if you like to know how to make wantons or dumpling in a creative way if you have the time. Until my next post, have a fabulous week!
Ingredients
Corn flour – 1 tbsp
Chicken stock cube – half
Oyster sauce – 1 tbsp
Spring onions & pepper powder for garnish
For the wonton filling:
Wonton pastry – 20 wrappers
Minced pork – 200 g
Spring Onions – 15 g
Ginger-Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp
Egg – 1
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp (optional)
Water / egg yolk for sealing the pastry
Salt
Directions
1. Add all the ingredients for wonton filling and mix together. Keep water in bowl to seal them (you can even use egg yolk) .Make the dumplings as shown in video.
2. In a pot filled with 2 cups boiling water add the rest of the remaining pork mince and cook for 10 mins on medium or until it boils.
3. In a small bowl containing 2 tbsp hot water ( I used 2 tbsp of soup), stir in the corn flour until no lumps are found. Also mix in the chicken stock cube. Add this to the pot. Add 1 more cup of water.
4. Carefully drop the wontons one-by-one into the pot. Add garlic. Take a tablespoon of oyster sauce and stir in lightly (you can also add the sauce before dropping the wontons).
Let it cook on low heat for 5 – 10 minutes or until it starts boiling.
5. Garnish with spring onions and pepper powder. Serve hot.
Note:
* If you have the wonton wrapper in the freezer. Place it in the refrigerator section for an hour or two before making the wontons. If you plan to make it right away keep it out in a warm area so it gets easier to remove the wrapper skin easily.
As a hobby I blog on recipes that fascinates me to learn the art of cooking inspired from people to places I've been. In my recipes you will find step-by-step pictures with instructions for easy cooking. Hope to hear your views, share pics and have fun.
Happy cooking!