My Epic Soup Journey: Saigon Soup

I had the pleasure of being featured as a local chef this past Sunday for the Boston Localvore's Souper Bowl, a soup-oriented event featuring 6 different soups made of mostly local, and all-natural ingredients at the Haley House in Roxbury. The event was a ton of fun, and as usual with Boston Localvores events, full of amazing food and good company.

Darry and Kristi (the localvore's team) are friends of mine, and without second thought I agreed to cooking for the event...I didn't realize until later HOW MUCH soup 40 people's worth adds up to. It is also pretty complicated to collect enough local ingredients dead of winter to do the exact soup you want to, and I ambitiously chose Saigon Soup, which is a Vietnamese Breakfast soup including pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, crab, and vegetables. I have eaten Saigon soup many times, and it seemed natural to cook it for an event. Little did I know what I was getting myself into....

THE STOCK:

So, to make enough stock for 40 people (20 quarts, about), I got 15lbs of chicken backs and legs for the stock. They are admittedly from Whole Foods, but Lionette's was out of parts and I was running out of time. There is a whole debate about Whole Foods and their creditability in terms of quality of meat and treatment of animals at their farms, but it was either get natural meat from Whole Foods or put myself in the open arms of the industrial food chain (Star Market, Stop and Shop, or the Super 88 Market, which I love, but their meat? I don't think anyone knows where it is from, not to mention what part of the animal it came from). Whole Foods, for the most part, stays relatively local in terms of supplying their markets from farms on the same coast, at least, and my chicken parts came from one of their farms in PA, which is better than coming from Taiwan, or even California.

Local food eating is hard if you have what you want in mind before you approach the shopping. It is always better/easier to plan your meal around what is available, instead of seeking out your pre-decided grocery list. Go to the farmer's market or Co-op with an open mind, see what is available from local sources, and let your imagination take over. You might have to re-adjust your eating to be more seasonal, but that's how humans used to eat before preservatives and refrigeration anyway.

I threw in some carrots, Celery, Leeks, Onions, Garlic, and Tomato skins/seeds from Verrill farms in Concord. I had 3 pots of meat and veggies simmering all day Saturday, for 5 hours. I then removed all the parts, sieved the broth, and let it cool overnight on the porch.


THE MEAT:

I have to say, after buying in bulk and calling and haggling with a few different butchers and fishmongers, I was feeling pretty pro-chef. I managed to get my Pork Butt from Lionette's on Tremont st in Boston, shrimp and crab from Maine (bought at Whole Foods), and chicken and beef were Whole Foods brand.

I chopped and prepped all the meats with some salt, pepper, and Nok Chaam (sp?), which is a Vietnamese fish/garlic sauce that is amazing on almost anything.

I then sliced and chopped a ton of Shallots (from Verrill) for both the crab and the meats, and prepped for cooking. I cooked the chicken, pork, shrimp and beef with shallots and garlic, and cooked the crab separately with garlic as well, frying up some sliced shallots and tossed them on top of the crab.

I also sliced some celery and got some watercress, putting them aside for garnishes.

THE NOODLES:

were from Chao Chow noodle factory on Essex St in Boston. I bought them fresh at the Super 88 market. I boiled up 3 pounds of rice noodles for about 10 minutes and put them aside to add to the soup later.

I put everything in separate containers for transport. I left the meats and noodles out of the broth since if I had thrown them all together, it seemed likely the noodles would get too mushy and the meat over cooked.

THE SOUPER BOWL (The Main Event):

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. I was one of six soups at the event, with choices like rutabaga soup, potato and kale, bean chili, vegan mushroom, and jota (which was an amazing pork and bean soup). The full menu is available here.

I stuck to my post, and served the Saigon soup ingredient after ingredient, as it is meant to be served. The event was a success, and my local meats journey came to an end.

Here are some pics from the event:

The veggie soup table

Haley House

The Saigon Soup assembly line