G'day G'day Folks,

I'm working on making a seafood soup. In New Zealand we have a
seaweed called Karengo. It is soft and flexible. I came across it in
a Thai restaurant in what they called seaweed soup. It was delightful
and I imagine very diabetic friendly. Their version had stuffed baby
squid, something that seemed altogether far too fiddly for me.

Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
looking for a new dietary staple.

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:45:19 +1300, Quentin Grady
> wrote:

>G'day G'day Folks,
>
> I'm working on making a seafood soup. In New Zealand we have a
>seaweed called Karengo. It is soft and flexible. I came across it in
>a Thai restaurant in what they called seaweed soup. It was delightful
>and I imagine very diabetic friendly. Their version had stuffed baby
>squid, something that seemed altogether far too fiddly for me.
>
>Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
>soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
>the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
>and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
>looking for a new dietary staple.
>
>Best wishes,

Salmon Miso Soup

4 cups dashi (recipe below)
4-5 tablespoons miso
1/4 head cabbage, cleaned and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb salmon, (or other fish) cut large bite-size pieces
1/2 lb tofu, drained and cubed
eggs, if desired

Bring the dashi to a boil in a large stock pan and add the carrots and
potatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes or until carrots
and potatoes are about cooked through.

Add cabbage to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until cabbage is just
crisp.

Put miso (starting with the lesser amount) into a sieve. Dip the sieve
into the stock and melt the miso into the soup. The purpose of the
sieve is to make sure there are no big miso chunks in the soup. You
can also disslove the miso into some hot dashi and slowly add it in.
Make sure to taste as you add the miso-- too much will make the soup
salty.

Add tofu cubes gently. Add salmon pieces to top of pan and push
carefully into the soup. Simmer until the salmon is cooked through.

When salmon is cooked, portion out the salmon pieces, vegies, and tofu
to individual serving bowls.

If desired, gently break into the soup an egg for each person and let
it poach.
Put this on top of each portion.

Pour the miso soup over the top of the salmon, vegie, tofu, and egg
bowls.

Dashi Recipe:

4 cups cold water
1 sheet (1 ounce) kombu seaweed 3 to 4 inches square, soaked in cold
water in the refrigerator overnight
1/3 cup dried bonito flakes

Place the water in a medium saucepan. Add the kombu. Bring to a low
boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low (if the water
continues to boil, the stock will not be totally clear) and simmer for
5 minutes. Add the bonito flakes and stir. Turn off the heat and let
stand for 2 minutes to allow the bonito flakes to settle. Skim off any
foam.
Line a large colander or strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a
large bowl; carefully pour the dashi through to strain it. Discard the
kombu and bonito flakes.

Andrea2

On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:45:19 +1300, Quentin Grady
> wrote:

>Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
>soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
>the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
>and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
>looking for a new dietary staple.

Quentin,

Over here I can easily get a dried seaweed called Wakame. It
reconstitutes very simply, by just soaking it in hot water; when I'm
ready for it, I just tear or slice it into whatever soup I want. It
requires no cooking per se, but adds its flavour nicely if it simmers
a bit.

I tend to throw it into a veggie soup, for the contrast in flavours -
but I'm sure it would be good in a broth-type fish soup. I'd just
bring fish stock to the simmer, poach bite-sized pieces of fish for
just a minute or two, then add the seaweed and maybe spring onion and
ginger threads. Fish stock is sold by fishmongers or even supermarkets
here, but is not difficult to make.

Nicky.
T2 DX 05/2004
A1c 5.5% BMI 25 D&E
100ug Thyroxine

This post not CC'd by email
On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:08:07 -0800, Andrea2 >
wrote:

>On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:45:19 +1300, Quentin Grady
> wrote:
>
>>G'day G'day Folks,
>>
>> I'm working on making a seafood soup. In New Zealand we have a
>>seaweed called Karengo. It is soft and flexible. I came across it in
>>a Thai restaurant in what they called seaweed soup. It was delightful
>>and I imagine very diabetic friendly. Their version had stuffed baby
>>squid, something that seemed altogether far too fiddly for me.
>>
>>Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
>>soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
>>the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
>>and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
>>looking for a new dietary staple.
>>
>>Best wishes,

G'day G'day Andrea,

Thank you for the authentic recipe. It has plenty of authentic
Asian ingredients like bonito flakes, miso, tofu. These are becoming
easier to obtain these days, in fact almost common place but since my
intended readers are blokes with a limited desire to buy stuff they
regard as fancy they may well find the ingredients off putting. Heck.
It is going to be hard enough to get them buy one unusual ingredient,
the karengo seaweed.

What I'm looking for is going to take considerable ingenuity, a
Western seafood soup that includes a local seaweed. Maybe I need to
start with one of the European seafood soups and add seaweed. This is
genuinely a voyage of discovery.

Best wishes and once again thank you.
Quentin.

>Salmon Miso Soup
>
>4 cups dashi (recipe below)
>4-5 tablespoons miso
>1/4 head cabbage, cleaned and chopped
>2 carrots, peeled and sliced
>1 potatoes, peeled and cubed
>1 lb salmon, (or other fish) cut large bite-size pieces
>1/2 lb tofu, drained and cubed
>eggs, if desired
>
>Bring the dashi to a boil in a large stock pan and add the carrots and
>potatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes or until carrots
>and potatoes are about cooked through.
>
>Add cabbage to pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until cabbage is just
>crisp.
>
>Put miso (starting with the lesser amount) into a sieve. Dip the sieve
>into the stock and melt the miso into the soup. The purpose of the
>sieve is to make sure there are no big miso chunks in the soup. You
>can also disslove the miso into some hot dashi and slowly add it in.
>Make sure to taste as you add the miso-- too much will make the soup
>salty.
>
>Add tofu cubes gently. Add salmon pieces to top of pan and push
>carefully into the soup. Simmer until the salmon is cooked through.
>
>When salmon is cooked, portion out the salmon pieces, vegies, and tofu
>to individual serving bowls.
>
>If desired, gently break into the soup an egg for each person and let
>it poach.
>Put this on top of each portion.
>
>Pour the miso soup over the top of the salmon, vegie, tofu, and egg
>bowls.
>
>Dashi Recipe:
>
>4 cups cold water
>1 sheet (1 ounce) kombu seaweed 3 to 4 inches square, soaked in cold
>water in the refrigerator overnight
>1/3 cup dried bonito flakes
>
>Place the water in a medium saucepan. Add the kombu. Bring to a low
>boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low (if the water
>continues to boil, the stock will not be totally clear) and simmer for
>5 minutes. Add the bonito flakes and stir. Turn off the heat and let
>stand for 2 minutes to allow the bonito flakes to settle. Skim off any
>foam.
>Line a large colander or strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a
>large bowl; carefully pour the dashi through to strain it. Discard the
>kombu and bonito flakes.
>
>Andrea2

--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

This post not CC'd by email
On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:44:24 +0000, Nicky
> wrote:

>On Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:45:19 +1300, Quentin Grady
> wrote:
>
>>Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
>>soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
>>the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
>>and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
>>looking for a new dietary staple.
>
>Quentin,
>
>Over here I can easily get a dried seaweed called Wakame. It
>reconstitutes very simply, by just soaking it in hot water; when I'm
>ready for it, I just tear or slice it into whatever soup I want. It
>requires no cooking per se, but adds its flavour nicely if it simmers
>a bit.

G'day G'day Nicky,

One can buy Wakame here. My decision to use karengo is simply that
it is local. It has purple brown colour and I like the flavour and
texture. For blokes the "no soaking" feature is a distinct advantage.
I know I don't plan meals a day ahead and assume most blokes have a
similar idea about food preparation.

>I tend to throw it into a veggie soup, for the contrast in flavours -

That would be good as a starting point. IMHO getting blokes used to
using seaweed in something they are more likely to be familiar with
might make a good starting point.

>but I'm sure it would be good in a broth-type fish soup. I'd just
>bring fish stock to the simmer, poach bite-sized pieces of fish for
>just a minute or two, then add the seaweed and maybe spring onion and
>ginger threads. Fish stock is sold by fishmongers or even supermarkets
>here, but is not difficult to make.

Our local supermarkets have fish stock in tetra packs. While fish
stock isn't hard to make, I find it something I need to do when my
wife isn't home.

>Nicky.
>T2 DX 05/2004
>A1c 5.5% BMI 25 D&E
>100ug Thyroxine

Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin

Quentin Grady wrote:

> G'day G'day Folks,
>
> I'm working on making a seafood soup. In New Zealand we have a
> seaweed called Karengo. It is soft and flexible. I came across it in
> a Thai restaurant in what they called seaweed soup. It was delightful
> and I imagine very diabetic friendly. Their version had stuffed baby
> squid, something that seemed altogether far too fiddly for me.
>
> Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
> soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
> the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
> and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
> looking for a new dietary staple.
>
> Best wishes,

You have basically 3 elements in a soup

stock
protein
additions

Where you add your seaweed is a matter of preference and flavour. A long
or short cooking time will change your results. The cooked seaweed could
be strained out to impart flavour, chopped or pureed or left whole, as
with the rest of the ingredients...

Our Canadian seaweed snack is dulse:

http://www.grandmanannb.com/dulse.htm

44% carbs, hmmmm...

I can't help much with specifics as seafood isn't on my menu (allergies).

Vicki

This post not CC'd by email
On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 03:40:49 -0500, percy >
wrote:

>Quentin Grady wrote:
>
>> G'day G'day Folks,
>>
>> I'm working on making a seafood soup. In New Zealand we have a
>> seaweed called Karengo. It is soft and flexible. I came across it in
>> a Thai restaurant in what they called seaweed soup. It was delightful
>> and I imagine very diabetic friendly. Their version had stuffed baby
>> squid, something that seemed altogether far too fiddly for me.
>>
>> Is there anyone out there who has had experience of making seafood
>> soup that includes seaweed? I'm looking for tips that could shorten
>> the time taken to evolve something simple that a bloke could whip up
>> and enjoy both making and presenting to friends. That is to say I'm
>> looking for a new dietary staple.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>
>You have basically 3 elements in a soup
>
>stock
>protein
>additions
>
>Where you add your seaweed is a matter of preference and flavour. A long
>or short cooking time will change your results. The cooked seaweed could
>be strained out to impart flavour, chopped or pureed or left whole, as
>with the rest of the ingredients...

G'day G'day Vicki,

The karengo we have comes in long threads that can be used whole.
This makes it easier. I appreciate your point regarding chopping
pureeing etc.

>Our Canadian seaweed snack is dulse:
>
>http://www.grandmanannb.com/dulse.htm
>
>44% carbs, hmmmm...

I don't think the carbs are likely to be a problem with blood glucose.
in practice. The carbohydrate is most likely mostly soluble fibre.

>I can't help much with specifics as seafood isn't on my menu (allergies).
>
>Vicki

Thanks,
Best wishes,
--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin