Not for everyone

[Dave Grubb]

I had a dental implant (my third ) put in yesterday---along with pulling the roots of my tooth---so I'm a bit hobbled dietary wise at the moment.

Thus--last night I made myself soup---and I did not consider my wife as joining me in that--she was on her own.

I looked to the west for inspiration and it became a Korean/Asian night. The pot included, red miso as a base, kelp noodles, nori (about 6 of the large sheets), Korean dried hot pepper leaves, fish sauce, dry porcini mushrooms and garlic.

It was comfort food when I needed it

I'll likely repeat something similar today since the kelp noodles, which are "wet packed" in a hermetically sealed package have to be kept in water and refrigerated after opening.

Oh---and my wife---in a way she joined me---she "made" instant ramen in the microwave

As an aside, and what I was just thinking about---I was very lucky in Korea because I could move about through the country, pretty much unhindered, a fact that was aided by my having learned the language. That resulted in a much broader experience than I had in Vietnam. There (and the time was far less as well) wondering around the village wasn't something I was able to do. That limited, to almost zero, my exposure to the Vietnamese people, the culture, their customs and their food.

Dan, on the other hand, I believe, was mostly around and in Saigon. It was possible to move about Saigon with a much greater degree of freedom and experience far more of the Vietnamese culture.

Back to the soup for a bit, I am lucky to have these "components" in my pantry. One that I wished I had but am currently out of is kimchi---my soup (and me) would have benefited from a healthy dose of kimchi juice-both for taste as well as gut health which is now under assault by the antibiotic I am now taking. I am lucky to have an Asian grocery store about 25 miles away and also Amazon has a wide range of specialty foods--the kelp noodles and dried porcinis were from Amazon.

[Independent Voter]

After reading your post , I completely agree with the title.

[Dave Grubb]

After reading your post , I completely agree with the title.

[Phillbo]

I made Pho with rare Brisket last night.

[Dave Grubb]

I made Pho with rare Brisket last night.

Thanks Bo---I guess you chewed it too---go ahead---rub it in

[wacojoe]

Sounds like you were going for something uniformly soft and made it. I am not familiar with Kelp noodles or pepper leaves, but they sounds interesting and more nutritious than the usual. Generally, I much prefer rice noodles to the more usual wheat kind of Ramen. When your teeth heal up, I recommend first removing the white centers and then chopping the green part of the leaves of some fresh Napa Cabbage and finish the soup by pouring the broth & mixture over the crisp Napa at the time of surviving. The Napa stays a nice firm texture unlike it becomes in kimchi and gives me a better mouth-feel.

[Dave Grubb]

I am curious, common white head cabbage grown around here has a very strong putrid odor. The only good thing I can say about that is there is no need to worry about deer catching your sent anywhere down wind of a cabbage patch.
Does napa cabbage have the same "quality "?

[wacojoe]

The only scent produced by any cabbage in my experience is that normally produced by ordinary white cabbage and Brussels sprouts when cooked. I’ve never cooked Napa cabbage, so I do not know if that is true of that veggie, nor did I know some cabbage was odoriferous in the field. I’ve grown both Napa and Brussels Sprouts and never noticed any issue.

[Dave Grubb]

Here is one account.

It happens after the harvest and there are a lot of leaves that remain in the field and begin to rot---trust me---it is foul