Nan's Sizzling Rice Soup

Name: Nan's Sizzling Rice Soup
Total time: 1800 s
Yield: 6-8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 oz. Dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated, plus soaking water; 64 oz. rich chicken broth; White bok choy stems, chopped; 3 tsp. 5 -spice powder; 1 tsp. Garlic powder; 1/4 tsp. Pepper; 2 T. Toasted sesame oil; 4 oz. Soy sauce; 4 oz. Aji-Mirin; 2 oz. Rice wine vinegar; Deli rotisserie chicken, shredded or diced; Steak, VERY thinly sliced; Small shrimp, cleaned, deveined; Mushrooms, sliced; Water chestnuts, sliced; Bok choy green leaves, julienned; Spinach leaves, julienned; Snow peas; Green onions, sliced; Mung bean sprouts; Peanut oil; Rice cakes

Maggie Conlon @WarsawNan

Orlando, FL

One of my very favorites, this quick soup is impressive and delicious. Prepare all the add-ins ahead of time, even the day before, and put them in a large divided dish, refrigerated until 30 minutes before dinner. Each person puts the ingredients they want into their empty soup bowl, the boiling hot soup is ladled in, then the hot fried rice cakes are added for the sizzle. While you can make your own rice cakes, the process is involved and time-consuming. I find it's MUCH easier to buy them (Asian market or Amazon).

You can easily change up the optional ingredients to suit your own taste. Use as few or as many of the ingredients listed here. But don't skip the dried shitake mushrooms! They add a rich umami flavor to the broth that you don't get from fresh shitakes. And make sure when you dish it up you include enough broth in each bowl to accommodate the star, the sizzling rice cakes!

#GoldenApron23

Maggie Conlon @WarsawNan

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Ingredients

30 min

6-8 servings

SOUP BROTH:
4 oz.Dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated, plus soaking water
64 oz.rich chicken broth
White bok choy stems, chopped
3 tsp.5 -spice powder
1 tsp.Garlic powder
1/4 tsp.Pepper
2 T.Toasted sesame oil
4 oz.Soy sauce
4 oz.Aji-Mirin
2 oz.Rice wine vinegar
ADD-INS (choose those you like):
Deli rotisserie chicken, shredded or diced
Steak, VERY thinly sliced
Small shrimp, cleaned, deveined
Mushrooms, sliced
Water chestnuts, sliced
Bok choy green leaves, julienned
Spinach leaves, julienned
Snow peas
Green onions, sliced
Mung bean sprouts
RICE CAKES:
Peanut oil
Rice cakes

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Steps

30 min

1

OPTIONAL STEP: If you use deli rotisserie chicken as an ingredient, you can remove the meat and use the chicken carcass to enrich store-bought chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for a few hours. Remove and discard bones.
2

Place the dried shitake mushrooms in a small bowl and pour in 2 cups of boiling water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to keep the heat and steam in. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3

Remove mushrooms from water (save the water!), squeezing water back into bowl. Remove and discard any mushroom stems, and slice the mushrooms.
4

Add all the soup broth ingredients and the reserved mushroom water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover, and allow to simmer. The sliced shitake mushrooms can either be added to the soup broth or the optional ingredients selection.
5

If you're using bok choy (my favorite!), cut the white stem from the leafy green and mince the white. Add the chopped white stem to the seasoned pot of simmering chicken stock. Slice the leafy greens and place in optional ingredients dish.
6

Prep and place your remaining optional ingredients in the dish. I like to use a big divided dish for the optional ingredients, but you can use individual containers if you want.
7

When you're about ready to serve the soup, heat up about 3-4 inches of peanut oil in a medium-sized saucepan. While the oil is heating, have each diner place the optional ingredients they want into their soup bowl. Ladle the very hot broth into each bowl. Too hot to eat, but it's warming up the ingredients in their bowls and cooking any thin steak slices while you're doing the rice cakes, which is pretty quick.
8

When the peanut oil is hot (about 380°F), drop in the rice cakes. Don't crowd the pan; cook in batches if necessary. I cook 2 to 3 rice cakes per bowl of soup. Keep close watch because they cook quickly. They'll puff up and float to the top. Then continue frying just a minute or so, flipping as needed, to lightly brown.
9

Remove the rice cakes (I recommend a kitchen spider), place in each bowl of soup, and listen to it sizzle! SO good!! Enjoy! (Click the video to hear the sizzle)

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Maggie Conlon @WarsawNan

on September 14, 2023 23:05

Orlando, FL

My 5 siblings and I were raised in the 1950s and 60s midwest by a major foodie dad who was a great cook. We all learned to cook at a young age. I love to cook for my 2 daughters, 7 grandkids, 10 great-grandkids, and extended family. My 4 year old great-grandson makes my day when he says "Nan sure is a good cooker!". :-). I'm trying to get all my favorite recipes saved here so my family and friends all have easy access to them even after I'm gone. My Cookpad collection is their inheritance, so I try to add my comments and memories to each recipe; that way they'll remember me with a smile when they use the recipes years from now. Recently I've called on my grandkids (all adults and avid cooks) to send me their own favorite recipes, with their prep photos, so we can collect everyone's favorites together in one place.