Vegetarian Noodle soup with Tofu

I have made this type of dishes a lot lately, just because i love noodle soups. Especially here in Sweden, there is lot's of Thai/Vietnamise restaurants that have exellent noodle soups on their menus. So i have got my inspiration of these from those restaurants. This is quite basic soup, lot's of differet veggies and tofu stir fried in oyster sauce and served with rice noodles and vegetarian broth. Here is a recipe how to make this delicious dish:

You need lot's of vegetables, you can choose what you want to use,  but here is a list what i used:

• Zuccini
• Carrots
• Fennel
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Fresh champions/shiitake mushrooms
• Leek
• Cabbage
• Garlic
• Bamboo shoots
• Fresh Coriander
• Chili
• Mixed salad ( i used mixed salad bag with fresh spinach, lettuce, etc)

You also need: 

• Rice noodles 
• Tofu ( i used the ready fried one)
• Oyster sauce
• Salt & Pepper
• Vegetable broth
• About 1/2-1 liter of water
• Ginger 
• Olive oil
• Sesame oil

First prepare all the vegetables, wash well and chop to pieces. Boil some hot water on a tea boiler and also measure about half or one liter water on a pot on a stove. Add vegetable broth in it, some fresh chili, garlic and graded ginger. Add Some pepper and salt. Taste that has enough taste. Let it come to boil and after that put a side to wait. Same time that you are making the broth,  the tea boiler is also ready, so add the rice noodles in a big bowl with a lit. Pour the water in so that it covers the rice noodles. Add lit and let it stand there about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile start preparing the stir fry. Add some olive oil, sesame oil, fresh chili and garlic on a pan, heat up and add tofu. Fry it like a minute or so. Then add carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.  Add some salt, pepper and oyster sauce. Mix well and cover with lit for 1-2 minutes. After that add rest of the chopped vegetables (not the salad and coriander). Pour some more oyster sauce in, add oil if needed. Add again some pepper and salt. Mix well and cover with lit like for 3 minutes. Then mix again. Keep the heat enough down, that the vegetables don't go too soft. They need to be still a bit crispy.

Then pour the water out from the ricenoodles. Add some noodles on a deep plate.First add some salad on top, then some stir fried vegetables on and  last pour some broth in. Sprinkle some coriander  and little bit oyster sauce on top and enjoy. So "Helvetin Hyvää" as we say in Finnish ( which means so "F*king good, haha)

Creamy Salmon Soup

This is quite basic scandinavian style salmon soup and easy to make. I really love creamy fish soups. My granma used to make the best fish soups. This one is warming at the cold winter days. Cheap, quick and easy to make. Takes about 30 minutes to make.

Here's what you need:

• About 6-9 potatoes
• 3 Carrots
• Celery
• Dill
• Fresh or frozen Salmon. 
• One onion
• 3 dl whipped cream
• Allspice (Jamaica pepper)
• Fish broth
• about 8-10 dl water
• Salt & pepper

First peel the potatoes, carrots and onion. Cut the celery. Measure water in the pot and put all the vegetables in the boiling water. Add fish broth & some Allspice (Jamaica pepper). Cut the fish into cubes. Let it boil until potatoes are getting softer. Add the fish cubes into the boiling pot. Put the heat lower. Add the cream and the dill. Add some salt and pepper. Taste that has enough spices. Enjoy with some dark break and glass of cold milk.

Potato-Leek soup

I eat soups often. You can make them normally quite fast and simple. There is so much great options for delicious soups! This on is one of my favourite soups, that my mom always made me when i was sick. It's fast and simple to make and really good. Here is a recipe for you to make it:

• About 8 potatoes (normal size)
• One Leek
• 1-2 Vegetarian stock cube
• 3-5 Garlic cloves
• Salt & pepper
• Some mixed herbs like thyme, tarragon, oregano ect. 
• About 1 liter water
• 1 dl cream (optional soy cream if you want to make it vegan)
• Couple drops of Olive Oil
• Some grated cheeze on top (optional)

First you peel the potatoes and cut them on small cubes. Add  the potatoes, water and the vegetarian stock in a pot, let it come to boil. Meanwhile cut the Leek and garlic. Add them to the boiling water. Let it boil about 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes are soft. Pour the stock in a bowl, leave about 2 dl on the bottom of the pot. Use a hand blender to mash the potatoes and leek into a smooth puree, add the stock a little bit more to make it more like a soup, but not too much. Save space for the cream. Put the pot back on the stove and add cream, hint of olive oil, some salt & pepper and some herbs. Sterve well. Serve with some fresh bread, sprinkle some grated cheese on top and enjoy. So good!

Vietnamese style Vegetarian noodle soup

Today i made one of my favorite styles of food, Vietnamese. Never been in Vietnam, but sure would love to go there one day to taste the food and learn about their culture. This is a lovely comfort food for a cold rainy day! Here is a recipe for you to try out:

Ingredients:

Portion about 2-4 persons

• 1 packet of ready fried tofu (you can find this in most Asian stores frozen or fresh)
• 2-3 big cloves of Garlic
• Small piece of fresh Ginger
• Red chili ( as much as you can take, i put one big one, without the seeds)
• 3 small carrots
• 1 lime
• 1 branch of Lemon grass
• Salted peanuts
• Half eggplant
• Fresh Coriander
• Bean sprouts
• Bok Choy (you can find this in most Asian markets)
• 1 small Broccoli
• 2 fresh Shiitake mushrooms
• 1 branch of Celery
• 3 branches of fresh spring onion
• Vegetable broth (Knorr; Vegetable fond "Du Chef")
• Rice noodles ( You can find these in most Asian stores, i picked the wide ones)
• Soy sauce (Kikkoman)
• Sesame Oil ( i used special Sesame-Ginger mix oil)
• Fish sauce (optional) If you want to make a vegan version, just use soy sauce.
• Basic cooking oil

First chop the tofu into smaller pieces and marinade it with soy, sesame oil and fish sauce. Meanwhile start prepping the other stuff. Cut garlic cloves, ginger and chili into small pieces. Put them on side in a bowl. Cut vegetables (carrot, broccoli, eggplant, celery and Shiitake mushrooms) into pieces and put them a side in a bowl. Make the broth by adding about 1 liter water in a pot, one vegetable broth (i used the fresh one). Add some soy sauce & fish sauce into the mix. Cut some lemon crass (hack it with knife first) and add it into the broth. Add also some of the chilies, garlic and ginger into the mix. I also added little bit fresh spring onion. Heat up to boil, and let it be on a low heat. Taste that it's salty enough! Same time you can start cooking the tofu on a hot pan. Add some cooking oil, bring up to heat and fry the tofu nice and golden brown. Put the ready Tofu on a bowl to wait. Boil some water with water boiler, add the rice noodles in a big bowl and pour the water in. Let the noodles rest in the hot water for about 5-10 minutes, until they are soft and ready. Meanwhile start cooking the vegetables. Add some oil, garlic, ginger and chili on the pan after cooking the tofu and pour the vegetables in. Mix it well, you can let it cook under a lit if you have some, but don't cook it too long. Vegetables need to be fresh and crispy. When vegetables look to be quite ready, add the beansprouts, bok choy and the cooked tofu on the mix. Mix it well, let it cook for a little bit, until the bok choy looks soft. Pour the water out from the noodles and add a nice pile on a plate. Add the vegetable mix on top and pour some broth in. Squeeze some lime juice on top and add some fresh coriander too. Hack some salty peanuts in a mortar and pour it on the top. Enjoy!