Shrimp soup w/ preserved black beans

I got on a preserved black bean kick due to an episode of Ming Tsai's show, "East Meets West," in which he combines a western ingredient with an eastern one. Putting butter and preserved black beans together may sound a bit strange, but I've done a couple of things with this idea and guess what, it's good. Having had preserved black beans on hand for at least the last year, they provided a unique taste touch to the soup.

Clockwise from top left: the mushroom liquid from rehydating, chicken broth, garlic, chopped yellow jalapeno-style pepper, diced zucchini, ramen noodles, preserved black beans, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms.

Shrimp soup w/black beans (serves 2)
6 dried shiitake mushrooms

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp butter
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
1 large garlic clove, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
½ cup diced zucchini (1/2” dice)
2 tbsp fermented black beans, lightly chopped
1 cup clam broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 packages ramen noodles (shrimp flavored)
10 oz. shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 scallions, white and green parts chopped

Rehydrate the mushrooms in 3/4 cup hot water. Put something on top of them to keep them submerged. When finished (about 30 minutes), slice them into 1/4" pieces. Reserve the liquid.

Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan. Add ginger, shiitakes, jalapeno and garlic and cook 1 minute. Add zucchini and black beans. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the clam broth, mushroom liquid, soy sauce and broth. Add to the sauté pan and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Add ramen noodles and shrimp. Reduce to a simmer and cook 3 minutes.

Transfer to soup bowls, garnish with scallions and serve.

Miscellanea

I discover many interesting foods at the 3 Asian markets I frequent (1 each of Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese).

From the Japanese market I get short grain sushi rice. I even made risotto with it. Perfect! Another Japanese specialty (via Korea) is menteiko, cured pollock roe sacks (salty and spicy...a great snack or garnish for other things).

My Chinese market is huge and has a seafood section where you can find incredibly cheap lobsters, Dungeness crabs, cockles, and sometime Maryland blue crabs. It also has an extensive produce section. Things I regularly buy there: preserved mustard tuber (salty and sour and an excellent addition in moderation to a ramen noodle soup); dried shiitake mushrooms (cheap, cheap, cheap); oyster mushrooms; enoki mushrooms; baby bok choy; Chingkiang vinegar; an excellent cooking wine; dried bamboo pith (again a great garnish for a stirfry or soup); barbequed pork (included entire hog heads); frozen ducks at a bargain.

My latest discovery came at the Vietnamese place. It has the most incredible selection of seafood, a good deal of it frozen. I bought frozen quail eggs and have used them in soup both scrambled and poached. All you have to do is put them in a bowl of hot tap water for 4 minutes and then crack them. I'm screwing my courage to the sticking point to try the frozen whitebait I got recently. They are thin and only about 1 1/2" long. And yes they are white. I plan to coat them with tempura batter and shallow fry them as fritters. You can actually find bullfrogs (live) and the stinky cheese fruit called durian.

I'm broadening my horizons in the same way I would hope my readers try to do. What readers you say? Well, sooner or later somebody has to find this blog.


For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.