Aromatic Medicine Soup with Shrimp
Course: DinnerCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Intermediate6
servings1
hour1
hourI love this recipe. I have made this soup for years. It reminds me of a favorite Asian restaurant in Boston that had this cure all soup. Whenever I was cold or just feeling not well, I would order this spicy shrimp soup and it seemed to kill all germs in my body. This is a bit time consuming but you can make the stock the day before and finish the soup the next day. It does require a lot of ingredients as well as access to an Asian market to buy the shrimp paste and ramen noodles in bulk. I don’t like the little packages with the flavoring. I prefer just buying ramen noodles in bulk so it makes making ramen easier. But this soup will cure whatever is nothing you. It could even stop Covid or at least make you feel much better.
Ingredients
6 whole cloves
6 green cardamon pods
4 star anise
3 dried chili de arbol
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 bunch cilantro
3 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
5 garlic cloves, skinned and smashed
1 (4 inch) long piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
12 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
Kosher salt and pepper
- Paste
1/2 cup cashews (I use a mix of raw and no salt but roasted)
1 medium shallot
1 fresno chili, stemmed and seeded
1 (3 inch) piece lemongrass, outer layer peeled and finely chopped
1 (1 inch) piece ginger, peeled and brought chopped
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon shrimp paste (Asian Markets)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Assembly
48 oz ramen noodles
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz mung bean sprouts
6 green onions, thinly sliced
Cilantro and mint or/and Thai basil
Fresh ground pepper
Kosher salt
Broth
- In a large Dutch oven, toast cloves, cardamon, star anise, chiles, cinnamon, and peppercorns over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add cilantro, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, ginger broth and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and keep on a constant simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. Strain ingredients and make sure to press the ingredients in the strainer to remove all the liquid for the stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper. ***You can stop at this point and cover the stock and refrigerate overnight or continue making the soup.
- Paste
- In a food processor, pulse the cashews until finely ground. Add shallot, chili, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar and shrimp paste, process until smooth. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium and cook paste stirring often, allow to brown for 2 minutes.
- Assembly
- Cook the noodles according to the directions. Bring broth to a simmer and add shrimp and cook 2 minutes. Divide the cooked noodles among 4-6 bowls and put a tablespoon or two of the paste on top of noodles in each bowl. Top with shrimp and broth and garnish with fresh herbs and green onions. Season each bowl with salt, fresh ground pepper and chili oil.
