THE ELECTRIC KITCHEN
There’s nothing like soup to cut the chill
While some people might say Hawaii doesn't have a winter season, it still gets wet, rainy and chilly enough to make soup a welcome addition to the dinner menu. These soup recipes are super easy to prepare and are sure to warm you up.
The Chicken Marungay Soup was originally prepared on our former television cooking show by one of our employees. When we told him we needed a recipe with exact measurements, he and his mom tested endless pots of soup while trying to measure out exactly what mom meant by "several cups of this, and a little bit of that."
The recipe they came up with makes a really yummy pot of soup, even though we're told it's not exactly like mom's! The recipe originally called for chicken thighs with skin and bone, but to cut down on the prep time and the fat content, we modified it to use boneless skinless thighs. But for better flavor, stick with the original.
If you don't have a marungay tree in your yard, buy marungay leaves at Filipino or Asian stores or at the local open markets.
Chicken Marungay Soup
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon oil
4 inch piece ginger, crushed
3 quarts water
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup patis (fish sauce)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups marungay leaves (horseradish)
Salt to taste
Cut chicken pieces into halves. In a large saucepan, heat oil. Brown chicken and ginger. Add water, tomatoes, patis and pepper. Cover and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes, until chicken is tender.
Add marungay, cover and cook 2 more minutes. Add salt if needed. Serves 6.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 310 calories, 11 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 200 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,000 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 46 g protein.
Lemongrass Beef Soup
1 stalk lemongrass
2-1/2 quarts water
1 tablespoon uncooked jasmine rice
1/2 pound thinly sliced top sirloin
4 to 8 teaspoons lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons seeded and chopped chili pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
4 teaspoons chopped purple basil
4 teaspoons chopped green onions
Freshly cooked jasmine rice
Crush lemongrass and cut in half. In a large sauce pot, add lemongrass, water and the 1 tablespoon rice. Cover and bring to boil; lower heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Cut beef slices into 2-inch strips; place in large soup bowl. Add lime juice, sugar, chili pepper, fish sauce, basil and green onions. Pour hot stock into bowl. Stir. Serve with cooked jasmine rice. Serves 4.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including cooked jasmine rice): 160 calories, 9 g total fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 375 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 2 g sugar, 16 g protein.
Marie's Potato Soup
8 medium onions
2 tablespoons butter
8 medium ripe tomatoes or 1-1/2 cups canned tomatoes
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
Dash of pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
8 medium potatoes, diced
6 cups boiling water
1 cup reduced fat evaporated milk
Peel and slice onions very thin. Cook slowly in butter until they are a delicate brown (about 20 minutes).
Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and sugar. Simmer gently 20 minutes.
Add potatoes and boiling water. Simmer 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Put soup through a fine sieve. (Soup stock may be made ahead to this point and refrigerated.)
Heat stock to scalding and stir in evaporated milk. Serve immediately. Serves 10.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 330 calories, 5 g total fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 425 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 8 g protein.
Note: If using fresh tomatoes, slice but do not peel.
Hawaiian Electric Co. presents this weekly collection of recipes as a public service. Many are drawn from HECO's database of recipes, accessible online at
www.heco.com.