Soup Visions
And how to not lose it completely while you plan for Spring + Rasam Consommé recipe + bonus Rasam Brittle for paid subscribers
From The New York Times:
“Louis XIV of France is said to have been responsible for the invention of consommé when he ordered his chef to create a soup so clear that he could see his kingly reflection in it.”
I’ve been thinking about this NYT claim of how consommé came to be all week. It’s been occupying space for two reasons:
The audacity of power, of obscene generational wealth and privilege, can lead someone to the conclusion that they must see their own reflection in soup.
Food origin stories always drive me insane with the idea that the desire of some royal, a whim, makes them the inventor of the dish and not say, the chef who has to interpret the deranged request into an actual physical thing in our world. The second point is a digression, but I needed to write it out.
I’m in a headspace where I’m putting a lot of content, work, emails, planning, strategizing for my year.
And when you are an independent chef/podcaster/writer, all of this output of work can feel like padded walls are the only things missing in your daily routine. Planning and waiting and being patient are a discipline well worn on more secure people. As I try to envision March, shoot my shot with companies and work on projects that await responses, that old relative, Imposter Syndrome, barges in, announced, with the novel thought, “do you really think they want to hear from YOU?”
I think the answer is that that particular answer doesn’t need to be answered.
And fine. Very empowering and wise. But not effective in quelling doubts. You know, when I think of consommé in general, before this little Louis the King allegory, I think of my time working in a restaurant, a very well known one here in ATX, and my first week. I slipped on a badly mopped floor in the walk-in and spilled around 3 lbs of Pork Consommé….a cool 4-5 hours of labor gone, not to mention the expensive ingredients themselves. The worst part is that I had already insisted on wearing my work kitchen boots, trusted boots, that carried me on the slippery-est of moments on meat slicked floors after a grueling day at Dai Due. Plus, I know how to move in a kitchen, surely I know what works than slippery new terrain. I didn’t. I fucked up, bad, my first week, in a kitchen I wasn’t respected in. I thought I would die of embarrassment, and I didn’t die, I got up, ordered those hideous kitchen crocs the next day and moved on.
But that’s just the first memory I think of when conjuring the word, “Consommé.” Now with the knowledge of a French king desperate to peep his kingly state in soup, I remember another moment in that same restaurant. That’s the one I need right now.
It was ACL, (Austin City Limits), in 2013, and for the non-Austinites reading, ACL & South By Southwest are always a rabid time in this city. It’s also the time you can quite literally bump into anyone. In 2013, I was working on a particularly slow night. We were all excited for an early close, until a certain man from a very famous band walked in. I won’t name the man, but I will say he’s British, he’s basically unequivocally known as a genius, and the band’s first part of the name was how most people consumed entertainment before TV.
And he was surly. Cause you know, geniuses have no time to smile. He sat at the bar and we’re an all Prix Fixe spot, so we’re just staring at the ticket machine, waiting to know which type of four course meal he would be ordering.
Now we had a vegetarian Prix Fixe on the menu, not a vegan one. Unfortunately, our patron was a vegan so every course was an improvisation. I was responsible for two of those courses and some change, a little bit on the 3rd, and he was indifferent throughout the meal, much to the dismay of our head of Front of House.
After the very first three courses, and his immovable demeanor, I was responsible for making a vegan dessert. Once again, in a restaurant that at the time had very little vegan dessert ingredients. Remember y’all, I’ve never claimed to be pastry chef. And we had in the walk-in, my least favorite thing, bananas.
But bananas are vegan. So I split the banana in half, added a lot of sugar and brûléed the shit out of it. Added some garnishes and essentially blacked out as I handed our FOH the dish. He looked at it, and then looked at me, and I think I just shrugged.
I was pretty sure I would be done after the review by said genius. In my head, I was already gone, fired.
I get called to the front, where the pass is located, our server has a message to relay: “He loved it, he really appreciated the artistry.”
Excuse me? Art? ARTE? First off, bananas are hot breath infused into a horrible tube, and then on top of it, burning sugar on top of it does not art make.
But you know, knowing that this brooding genius, this man who was too good to smile; had basic and borderline bad taste in food, was the type of empowering pep talk I’m looking for to exploit in my memory bank, in my time of need. In our modern world, most geniuses are born from perception. So I say, if you want to perceive your kingly reflection in soup, just do it convincingly, you got as much right as the next person.
And now for some very, good and clear soup. It’s a base that can just be dressed with herbs and had as a very elegant first course, or in a steel tumbler accompanying an incredible Thali, or used as braising stock, or warmed up for you to drink slowly from a mug. It’s everything I love about Rasam but distilled into its own flavor. I chose chicken as my stock base, but feel free to use any stock base, and there are vegetarian substitutions in the recipe.
Rasam Consommé (Vegetarian substitutes included!)
1 qt chicken stock, v. vegetable stock with a strip of seaweed (homemade or your favorite)
1 qt Tamarind Water
3 T Rasam Podi*
2-4 Thai Red Chilies (depending on spice level)
6 oz ground chicken, v. 9 oz of oyster or maitake mushrooms cooked down in Rasam Podi Chili Oil
Zest of one lemon
1 carrot, minced
1 bunch scallions
1 bunch cilantro
1 sprig of fried curry leaves
Huge pinch of Hing
1 small tomato, grated
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
2 juiced lemons
2 egg whites
Salt to taste
2 T Rasam Podi Chili Oil*
In a heavy bottomed pot, combine your chicken stock, tamarind water, Rasam Podi, and half of your chilis, bring to a boil and then simmer with another pint of water.
While your stock is boiling, in a food processor, combine all of the other ingredients and mix until you have the consistency of a meatball mixture.
(Seen above: the chicken mixture about to get the Podi Chili Oil added)
Once your stock is simmering, add the chicken mixture, and watch it float to the top as it cooks. The egg whites are helping clarify your stock, while the other ingredients are deepening the flavor. In about 15 minutes, make a hole in the middle of the chicken, letting the stock continue to evaporate and bubble.
Let the consommé continue to simmer for about 40 minutes. With a slotted spoon, take out most of the chicken mixture and throw. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the stock into a very clear liquid with tiny pools of chili oil. The bottom of the stock will be where most of the Podi will still reside, save that to add a ton of flavor to another dish.
** Both Rasam Podi & Rasam Podi Chili Oil recipes available on the previous Rasam posts named:
Welcome to Rasam Week..Ish (Rasam Podi)
What’s Your Nectar List? (Rasam Podi Chili Oil)
Tamarind Water refresh:
6-8 Tamarind pods, shelled
1.25 quarts of hot water
Soak the tamarind in the hot water, in a clean jar, overnight for best results. You can store in the fridge. Empty the contents, and squeeze the life out of the pods, strain and put back in the jar, ready to be used for your consommé.
We’re pretty much at the end of our Rasam Week-ish, with tiny moments included on the next few pieces of content on the substack:
Podcast episode where we discuss three things, we’re back in form!
Our first wine review video, featuring a wine I would pair with, you guessed it: Rasam
First collab video coming out soon as well, where I make the case about Rasam Cheese Boards with a very special collaborator.
Thing I made this week with the Consommé:
This incredible bowl of Ramen that features potato chips, fried curry leaves, a soft boiled egg topped with Rasam Podi Chili Oil, and a base that started with our consommé, then deepened with soy sauce and mirin.
Thing I made this week with the Rasam Podi:
This Rasam Brittle, which I used as a topping for strained yogurt, house made Meyer lemon curd, olive oil and sea salt. It’s a brittle that is slightly spicy, and sweet and just adds so much umami to a dessert. I liken the Podi to what Miso can do in sweet dishes. Recipe below for paid subscribers.
Which I think is a good time to mention:
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Without further ado:
Rasam Brittle
Ingredients:
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