Menudo soup

[Dave Grubb]

Last week I was in a Portuguese restaurant on Long Island. This is hard core---I seldom see anyone who appears to be American or speaking English. Most customers are men, not families, many of whom are speaking Spanish. None of the waiters seem to speak English.

The menu is all Portuguese and Spanish. I noticed a soup that I could not figure out and when I got back to my hotel I looked it up using the Portuguese spelling. I found that it has a Mexican equivalent and may have in fact originated in Mexico---menudo. I also found out that it was made with tripe

Tripe is one of the things fondly remembered from butchering in my youth. My Mother made a soup called Pepper Pot using tripe, in particular the lining of the second stomach of a cow or steer. I loved the taste of the soup and the texture of the tripe.

The Mexican connection led me to check our favorite local Mexican restaurant ----and bingo---they have it

So---last night we met our middle son for dinner, and I got to indulge my memories--and it was tremendous. Not like my Mother's---it had no vegetables and maybe better flavor. The best part was lots of tripe (sometimes called honeycomb tripe) since the appearance of the stomach linings is different in all the stomachs. The menudo also contained bones with a lot of tendons attached---another bonus for me

I now have to wait until the next time we go there

[wacojoe]

Often, when I go to Mex-Mex (as opposed to Tex-Mex restaurants) restaurants here in Texas, I see many people eating menudo — it is very popular. I was always under the impression that tripe was processed intestines, and that, plus the unsavory appearance has kept me from trying it. Perhaps now I will give it a try, as a good bowl of rich soup is at the top of my list...in fact making a giant pot of our beef vegetable soup is on the calendar today, so we can put up containers in the freezer for a quick throw down as needed.

[Dave Grubb]

I share your love of soup---tonight will be soup as well:

Spicy Noodle Soup With Mushrooms and Herbs
Alison Roman
• Yield 4 servings
• Time 45 minutes

Sautéed mushrooms lend extreme and surprising depth of flavor to this clean, spicy noodle soup, which also happens to be vegan. With the addition of soy sauce, the broth takes on an almost beefy flavor; the vinegar helps to perk it right back up for a nearly hot and sour flavor profile. For the best (and most interesting) results, try to seek out a mix of mushrooms for a variety of flavors and textures.
Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 ½ pounds mixed mushrooms, such as maitake, oyster, cremini or shiitake, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 to 2 fresh red or green chiles, such as Fresno, thinly sliced (or 3/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes)
• ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce, plus more to taste
• ¼ cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste
• 8 to 10 ounces noodles, such as udon, soba, rice or spaghetti
• 2 cups herbs (tender leaves and stems), such as cilantro, mint, chives, parsley or a mix, for serving
• Sesame seeds, sesame oil or both, for serving (optional)
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots start to turn a nice golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and half the chile, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have softened, released much of their water and turned a deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. (A browned mushroom will have infinitely more flavor than an unbrowned mushroom, because the water inside it evaporates and the flavor concentrates. So do not skip this step.)
3. Add 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup vinegar and 8 cups of water. Bring to a gentle simmer and season with salt and pepper. Continue to simmer until the flavors have melded and the broth tastes good enough to drink (you will be drinking it), 15 to 20 minutes. Season with more soy sauce and vinegar as you like.
4. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a large pot of salted boiling water until just al dente. (The timing will depend on the type and brand of noodles, so consult the package.) Add the noodles to the pot with the broth, and let them hang out in there for a minute or two to finish cooking and soak up all that flavor.
5. To serve, use tongs to divide the noodles and mushrooms among bowls, then ladle the hot broth over the top. Serve with the remaining chile, the herbs and the sesame seeds and oil (if using) for people to dress their own bowls to their liking.

Back to the tripe---I remember that my Mother always boiled the trip in salt water---4X for one hour each, rinsing the tripe and changing the water each hour. She said that without that there was the chance of "tasting the barnyard". I will take her word for that.

Regarding vegetable soup---I have no recipe---and despite that I think it is all but impossible to make a bad pot of vegetable soup---and just like you and me it gets better with age

Damn I wish that corny age thing were true.

[wacojoe]

Here is a tip I developed for my Asian noodle soups: after the soup is prepared pour it over fresh green parts of chopped Napa cabbage leaves in each serving bowl. The Napa cabbage holds up well to the heat and retains much of its crispness long enough to eat it. I also like to add burnt onions to the soup, which have a special flavor and, of course, lemon grass is exceptional. I’m in love with rice noodles over all the others.