CURLING UP AND DRIFTING

After the weather we've been having lately, a person wants soup. Specifically, a soup to warm the soul.

Which I had last night. My soul is duly warmed.


CASUAL WONTON IN HARÐFISKUR BROTH!

By seven in the evening I was fantasizing about little porky dumplings floating in savoury amber liquid. Dumplings, as regular readers know, are somewhat of an obsession of mine. There may be an unconscious link to the Reverend Otis Oracle declaring women to be "America's Little Dumplings", back in Bloom County days...... but I doubt it. Women are not dumplings.

A decent dumpling is the perfect food. While I do not dispute that a decent woman may very well be perfect, we're not talking edibility here, are we? No matter how personally delectable she could be.

[Note: Speculation above about women above is purely hypothetical. No actual recent experience. It's been a while. Despite encouragement by others to go find a slaggy consolation girlfriend. Nope, no can do.
I'll just sit quietly in my bookish lair, patiently waiting for some decent woman to be mysteriously lured this-a-way by my sheer intellectual magnetism. Or something. Like a spider in a well-constructed net.
Just think of me as the winsome arachnid of Casanovatude. Hmmph.]

The dumplings yesterday were more than decent, though not the best I've ever made.
I just clumped little balls of spiced ground meat into wonton skins.

The broth, however, was superlative.

When thoughtful, I make a very good broth.

POT ONE: Chicken stock, sherry, and scallion.
POT TWO: 大地魚 (daai-dei yü: dried flounder), dried mushroom, sliced ginger.
POT THREE: Boiling salted water.

Pot one on very low heat, just to meld.
Pot two with a little bit of oil to first toast the ingredients, then a splash water added to deglaze. Broke-up the various pieces coarsely, and cooked down till dry and toasty again. Another splash water, repeat. Once the fish component had fully developed the desired nuttiness, more water, to inundate and extract the flavour. Combined both stocks in pot one, rinsed out pot two to get rid of flotsam, and strained the combined stock into it.
Added some freshly minced scallion and cilantro.

Parboiled the wontons till they floated in pot three.

Broth into a bowl, wontons into the broth. Heaven. Repeat.

Fish balls optional.


I know the avid cook at this point will ask about precise quantities of all the ingredients. But I'm afraid I cannot give a satisfactory answer, as sometimes wonton soup doesn't obey exact measures.

I now have several small packets of extra wontons which were made last night in the freezer.
Along with about forty unused wonton skins.
Plus extra cilantro and scallion.
There's still a large piece of dried fish.
And some chicken broth left over.

Unlike the purely hypothetical bit about "America's Little Dumplings", these things are very real.
Satisfyingly so.



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