Category Archives: Soups

Beer Cheese Soup

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So, beer tastes good. And cheese tastes good. So the most logical thing would be to put them together, right? And then top it with some bacon just for kicks.

I can’t recommend which beer to use for the soup. It’s one of those recipes where you use what you have in your fridge. Our first beer cheese soup we used a homemade lager, but it was a little on the bitter side. The second time we used a homemade IPA, and it tasted better, smoother without the bitterness. Of course, since they were all homemade beers I can’t tell you which brand to use. So experiment and have fun!

Beer Cheese Soup (serves 4)

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bottle beer
  • 1 can chicken broth
  • 3 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Salt
  • chopped bacon, for topping (optional)*

*Vegetarians can use bacon bits or your choice of herbs for toppings.

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, melt butter on medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until caramelized. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add beer, boil for 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then let simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture and stir into soup until thickened. Add milk and cheese, and stir until cheese is completely melted. Salt to taste. Serve warm with chopped bacon for topping.

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Directions with Photos:

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In a large pot, melt butter on medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until caramelized.

Add Worcestershire sauce.

Add beer, boil for 3 minutes.

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Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then let simmer on low for 5 minutes.

Add cornstarch mixture and stir into soup until thickened.

Add milk and cheese, and stir until cheese is completely melted.

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Salt to taste. Serve warm with chopped bacon for topping.

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Fish Maw Soup for Chinese New Year

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My mom sent us a package full of stuff for Chinese New Year. It had homemade dried pork, lop cheurng, dried dates, dried squid, melon candy, pork sung, and fish maw. My husband thought the fish maw looked like pork rinds. Well, they do, but I doubt they’d taste like pork rinds if he tried to eat them.

Fish maw, like tofu, is used more for its unique texture and ability to soak up other flavors it’s cooked with. It is almost tasteless in itself. It’s spongy, like sea cucumber. For Chinese New Year this would be an ideal soup to serve.

There are a couple ways fish maw is sold – processed and unprocessed. Processed means it is already fried and ready to be soaked in water. Unprocessed means it needs to be fried (by you) then soaked in water. You can tell if its processed if it looks puffed up, like pork rinds. The unprocessed ones look thinner and feel a lot harder.

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For other Chinese New Year Recipes, here are a few ideas:

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Fish Maw Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup processed fish maw, reconstituted in water and chopped
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup sliced ginger
  • 6-8 shiitake mushrooms
  • 5 dried scallops, reconstituted in water
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 3 Tbsp water
  • salt
  • white pepper
  • red vinegar (optional)

Directions:

1) Soak the fish maw, mushrooms (if you are using the dried version) and scallops in a bowl of cold water until tender.

2) In a medium pot, boil a few (3 or 4) slices of ginger. Add the fish maw and boil for a minute or so. This will get rid of the remaining fishiness of the maw. Take out of boiling water and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Put fish maw back into the bowl of cold water.

3) Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add remaining ginger, fish maw, mushrooms, scallops, simmer for 10 minutes. Add cornstarch and water mixture to thicken soup. If you want it to thicken more, add more cornstarch + water. Stir in egg whites. Add salt and white pepper to your taste. Serve in bowls with red vinegar if your guests desire it.

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Soak the fish maw, mushrooms (if you are using the dried version) and scallops in a bowl of cold water until tender.

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In a medium pot, boil a few (3 or 4) slices of ginger.

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Add the fish maw and boil for a minute or so. This will get rid of the remaining fishiness of the maw.

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Take out of boiling water and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Put fish maw back into the bowl of cold water.

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Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add remaining ginger, fish maw, mushrooms, scallops, simmer for 10 minutes.

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Add cornstarch and water mixture to thicken soup. If you want it to thicken more, add more cornstarch + water. Stir in egg whites. Add salt and white pepper to your taste.

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Serve in bowls, with red vinegar and white pepper as condiments.

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Happy New Year!