My fellow cheftestants in the Chicago Redeye Virtual Kitchen Stadium were provided their secret ingredient this morning – Tamarind! I love the sour and sweet flavor of tamarind, especially in soups. To play along, I made a quick and easy soup using tamarind paste I usually have on hand. With all the cool summer weather we’ve been having lately, it was definitely a great day for soup…
original Joelen recipe
1 package Japanese ramen or yakisoba noodles
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb shrimp, raw, peeled & deveined
1-2 stalks green onion, sliced thin for garnish
In a large saucepan, place the chicken broth over medium high heat. Stir in the tamarind paste and add the minced garlic.
When the chicken broth comes to a boil, add the noodles. Cook the noodles until softened, then add the shrimp.
Once the shrimp has turned pink and cooked through (roughly 3-5 minutes), remove from heat and stir. Season to taste with salt & pepper if desired.
Ladle the soup into a serving bowl and garnish with green onions; serve hot.
What a fantastic way to use tamarind paste! I am definitely going to try this.
This looks like a great soup, especially with this weird weather we've been having. I've never cooked with tamarind before. I'll have to give it a try.
Awesome! And I just found out where I can get tamarind finally (it has remained elusive to me for quite a while)! I will have to experiment with a soup like this 🙂
This looks great Joelen. I've been wanting to try tamarind in a dish. Thanks!
Mmm. I was just telling a friend of mine yesterday that I have a whole container of tamarind pulp in my pantry that is begging to be used… this looks like the perfect application.
Just curious: How does it fare as leftovers?
Thanks for playing along! Looking forward to seeing you next week in Round 3 of RedEye's Virtual Kitchen Stadium!
Check out what Week 2 cheftestants did at http://www.redeyechicago.com/munchtime
Sometimes I think soups are too heavy for summertime, but this seems like a great compromise.
I don't think I've ever tried Tamarind, and I am not sure what it tastes like. Is it usually used in Asian dishes? I'll have to look for it on a menu next time I eat out, to see what it's like. Good luck with round 2!
Reminds me of sinigang but with noodles. I think that makes it even better. I like sour broths.