The worst thing about putting food in the freezer is that you forget it's there. You buy that yummy beef fillet "on special", thinking, "Oh, what a deal, I'll just pop that in the freezer."
Then it could be some years later before you discover it, by which time it's no longer fit to eat. Just the other day I found such a beef fillet lurking in the depths of the freezer. The thing I cooked was impossibly dry and stringy, with a horrid freezer-burn taste. Was it even meat? I got the label out of the rubbish and checked it. "Beef fillet, best before 2015." How can this happen? I realised that we don't really eat a lot of meat these days. When I'm looking for something in the freezer, it's more likely to be frozen berries, sliced bread or stock.
Homemade stock is one thing that will never go to waste in my freezer. I can never get enough of the stuff, its gelatinous, bone brothy goodness is my go-to, especially at this time of year when the soup pot comes out.
You might think it's a bit of a faff to make your own stock but there's actually very little work involved, just time and bones, lots of bones. Good stock, made with bones (aka bone broth), is a power-pack of good nutrition, rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids and collagen.
I will often poach a whole chicken in a pot with a couple of stalks of celery, an onion, a couple of bay leaves, a small bunch of parsley, a few peppercorns and enough water to cover. Once the chicken is cooked, I strip off the flesh for a pie or some other meal, and return all the bones and bits of connective tissue back into the broth along with a splash of lemon juice or cider vinegar (roughly 1 tsp for 2 litres of liquid helps break down the animal proteins and connective tissues and creates a broth higher in protein and collagen). Simmer for another 2-3 hours before straining and discarding the solids. If you are using just chicken carcasses to make stock, you want enough of these to three-quarters fill your pot. Add water to just cover, along with the flavourings above and simmer gently for three hours. Strain, cool and chill, then skim off the fat and pottle up all that jellied goodness for the freezer. For a more concentrated flavour, strain then simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. The better (more jellied) your stock, the better your soup will be. Don't season your stock with salt until it has finished cooking, since it's too easy for it to become oversalted as it reduces.
Here are three Asian-inspired soups to kick off the winter soup season — all made rich and flavoursome with good-quality chicken stock.
Chicken and mushroom tom yum soup
This zingy soup can be extended into a more substantial meal with the addition of cooked noodles and Asian greens.
Ready in 20 minutes
Makes 1 litre, serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a meal with noodles and Asian greens
4 cups well-flavoured chicken stock
12 baby button mushrooms, quartered
2 tomatoes, cored and diced
1 tsp tomato paste
½-1 tsp dried chilli flakes
Rind of 1 lime, finely zested
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 double makrut lime leaves
1 skinless chicken breast very thinly sliced
¼-¹/³ cup fresh lime juice, to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander or mint
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
In a medium-sized pot, place stock, mushrooms, tomatoes and tomato paste, chilli, lime zest, fish sauce and lime leaves. Simmer for 5 minutes. Just before serving, add sliced chicken breast and simmer for one minute or until chicken has turned white and is cooked through. Mix in lime juice and coriander. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper as needed and serve.
Note: If you wish to extend this into a meal, add 2 heads of chopped bok choy to cook with the chicken and serve in deep bowls over cooked drained noodles.
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Chicken laksa
The thing that makes this exotic Malay-inspired noodle bowl special is the crunchy garnish of fresh vegetables, which deliver a vibrant finish.
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Serves 6
300g dried narrow rice stick noodles
2 Tbsp neutral oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Zest of 1 lime, finely grated
2 Tbsp laksa or red curry paste, to taste (brands vary considerably in heat)
1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
1-2 whole chillies (optional)
4 cups well-flavoured chicken stock
1½-2 cups coconut cream
1 Tbsp soft brown sugar
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2-3 skinless single chicken breasts, very thinly sliced
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and halved
Lime wedges, to garnish
SALAD GARNISH
2 handfuls bean sprouts
2 spring onions, thinly sliced or shredded
1 handful of coriander leaves
1 handful of mint leaves
1 long red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
½ telegraph cucumber, cut into fine batons
Cover rice noodles with plenty of boiling water in a heatproof bowl, stirring to fully submerge. Allow to soak while you make the laksa soup and salad garnish.
To make the soup, heat the oil in a large pot and sizzle garlic, lime zest, curry paste and ginger for a minute or two until aromatic. Add tomatoes, chillies, if using, stock, coconut cream, sugar and fish sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. The soup can be prepared ahead up to this point, chilled for up to 48 hours or frozen until needed and reheated and finished just before serving.
When ready to eat, prepare salad garnish and arrange on a platter.
Add chicken to hot soup, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook gently for another 3-5 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Season to taste.
Drain noodles and divide them between serving bowls. Arrange two egg halves on top of each and divide the laksa soup between the bowls. Serve with the platter of salad garnishes so everyone can help themselves, and accompany with lime cheeks or wedges to squeeze over.
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Spicy duck noodle bowl with star anise and orange
A store-bought barbecued duck makes fast work of the tasty soup bowl. Remove the breast and save the rest for a curry or salad. You could also make this with wild duck. Take off the breasts and cook in a pan and simmer the rest of the bird to make stock as you would chicken stock. The leg meat from the duck can be flaked off when its tender for pies and stews.
Ready in 35 minutes
Serves 4
2 cooked duck breasts or 200-250g cooked duck meat
300g dried udon noodles
2 litres well-flavoured chicken stock
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
Zest of ½ orange, finely grated
¼ cup soy sauce
2 whole star anise
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced
8 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
100g broccolini or broccoli, cut into florets (optional)
3 heads bok choy, quartered,
4 spring onions, finely sliced
Slice cooked duck very thinly. Cook noodles according to packet instructions, then rinse and drain.
Place chicken stock in a large pot with ginger, orange zest, soy sauce, star anise and fish sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add red chillies, button mushrooms and broccolini or broccoli, if using. Simmer until the vegetables are just tender (about 3 minutes).
Just before serving, add duck, bok choy and spring onions and stir over medium heat until bok choy is wilted (about 2 minutes). Run boiling water over noodles to loosen and heat through. Drain noodles and divide between serving bowls.
Top with duck, vegetables and broth and serve immediately.
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Match with these ...
by Yvonne Lorkin
(Chicken and mushroom tom yum)
Gladstone Vineyard Viognier 2019 ($29)
The unmistakable aroma of orange zest, apricot and a jiggle of jasmine tells you that this great little viognier is going to bring va-voom to this tom yum. Grown organically on the ancient rocky terraces of the Ruamahanga River, this is an ultra-bright, beautifully balanced example of a variety that's notoriously difficult to grow. Fresh, spicy, and floral, it's one to savour — so don't overchill it. Then invite someone you're trying to impress over to sample it too. And if they don't like it, that's awesome. All the more for you!
gladstonevineyard.co.nz
(Chicken laksa)
Domain Road Defiance Central Otago Chardonnay 2020 ($32)
Slow down, find a spot, indicate and do your best parallel park, because you're going to want to have all your wheels pointing forward to take on this absolute stunner of a chardonnay. Intense grapefruit, roast peach, pineapple and caramelised toasty oak notes roar out of the glass and combine with rich, ripe tropicality on the palate, clean, zesty acidity and a long, creamy almond-and-cashew finish. It has incredible energy and tension and crazy-good compatibility with this chicken laksa.
domainroad.co.nz
(Spicy duck noodle bowl)
Whitehaven Marlborough Pinot Noir 2020 ($35)
Ah 1994. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked, Nelson Mandela became South Africa's president, Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, and we used Netscape Navigator to browse the newfangled internet thing. It's also when Sue and the late Greg White ditched their corporate careers, established Whitehaven, and went on to produce perky, cherry and spice-saturated superstars like this pinot noir. Vibrant, refreshing and roaring with ripe tannins and gently smoky oak notes, it's delicious with this ducky dish.
whitehaven.co.nz
