Monday 9 June 2014

Recipe: As easy as ABC (Philips)

There are many types of soups available in the market. Long time ago, I only knew one type of soup, mushroom soup and cherished every last drop of it each time we were lucky enough to visit Pizza Hut. Although I was quite familiar with noodles soups, I never thought much about the stock that was used to make these noodles taste simply divine. To me soup meant something creamy, coloured and smooth.

Now that I am more aware of food as I am actively involved in the process of making it for my family, my knowledge of soup has developed. I know now about cold soups, clear soups, creamy soups, hot soups and more. I even have with me, a Bible of Soups! A cookbook which shares thousands of recipes on soups.

But, it all goes back to basics. No doubt, having the ability to make different kinds of soups is handy but I have learned that my kids enjoyed most, the simple and easy to prepare clear soup which requires only a handful of easy to get ingredients. This simple soup which is packed with wholesome goodness and can be stretched to create more complex dishes.

ABC Soup



They are many versions to how this soup got its name, to name a few,
  1. you will get your Vitamins A, B and C from carrots, potatoes and onions that are used to make this soup
  2. it is as easy as ABC to make this soup
  3. it is very popular amongst the American-Born-Chinese
and my personal reason...because my butcher (an old lady whom I dearly call aunty) told me the letters ABC represent the basic ingredients required to make this soup are "A-nion, B-otato and Carrot". I did not want to argue nor point out her spelling error because 1, she was holding a cleaver when she shared her wisdom and 2, she is my source to many wonderful  and traditional recipes.
So there you have it, some reasons to why this very popular and kid friendly soup is called ABC.

Ingredients

2 medium sized onion, peeled
2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
2-3 carrots, cut into thick chunks
2-3 tomatoes, slit
500 gm. chicken breast and bones or pork ribs
Salt and pepper to taste (to be added after the soup is ready)
Enough water to just cover these ingredients
*Optional add-ins
100gm Enoki or other organic mushroom
1 large corn

Method

Blanch the chicken and add all ingredients except salt and pepper into pot. Add the water and select the right function (soup). It takes about 20 minutes to get this dish ready.

Few things to note
If you are already familiar with making this soup on stove top, remember to reduce the amount of water used when using a pressure cooker. This because unlike stove-top cooking, which takes over 2 - 2 1/2 hours, there is no opportunity for water to evaporate when cooked using Philips electric pressure cooker.

What I like about this nifty gadget



It is able to cook all the dishes (soup and rice) I am used to on stove top but at a fraction of the time. It also is able to conceal and lock in the nutrients, thanks to the short cooking time.
In the past, I had to make the soup ahead of time and heat it up when my kids were back from school but nowadays I just time it so it will be ready when they are back and we get to drink a bowl full of freshly made hot delicious soup.

How to stretch this soup
  1. You can use this soup as a base for your pasta or noodles.
  2. Remove the chicken and onions from this soup and blend the rest of the vegetables. Add some cream to it and let your young child enjoy this meal. For those capable of biting and chewing, you may want to serve it with a lightly buttered toast.
  3. You can use the tomato and chicken breast to make a sandwich for yourself. Just tear up the chicken and mix it with some mayonnaise (or yogurt, if you want to reduce the calories). Slice the tomatoes. Spread the chicken on a slice of bread, add some salad/lettuce, the tomatoes and sprinkle salt and pepper on it.

One dish, two meals

Somehow, I am not a big fan of clear soups. I don't mind it with noodles but not to drink it own its own. On the other hand, my children are not too fond of the ingredients in the soup but would gladly slurp the soup. So, not wanting to let these expensive (organic produce are expensive) ingredients go to waste and because I was running late, I used it to fix myself a quick but satisfying lunch.
Egg-Mayo sandwich for busy and hungry moms

Used some of the ingredients from the soup

Add some mayonnaise, salt and freshly ground pepper

I sometimes keep this egg-mayo in my fridge and use it to make egg-mayo sandwich for my kids to take along to school, the next day.

 

Product Specifications:

  • 14 cooking menus
  • Non-stick pot
  • Comes with a ladle, spatula and measuring cup
  • Preset-timer of 24 hours
  • Keeps food warm for up t 12 hours
  • The pressure valve is auto-release to ensure safety during cooking.
Retail Price : RM499


Disclosure : I have not received any compensation writing this review. I did receive a demo electric pressure cooker (which has been returned) to help me share my experience using it. This article was featured in Babytalk magazine (June 2014 issue)





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