The last recipe left to blog of the dishes served at this baby shower was a Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht. On account of me having so many tomatoes on hand, some of which were already quite soft, but also because I just love tomato-based soups. I've blogged Beet Borscht before, the gorgeously pink-hued Ukrainian version. But I've been familiar with the tomato-based version for much longer as it's a staple at Hong Kong cafes in the San Gabriel Valley.
It's pretty simple, a basic beef stock with tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onions with some tomato paste added in to deepen the tomato color. Let it simmer for a while until ready to eat.
Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht
For a 5-quart pot you'll need:
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 or 2 lbs beef marrow soup bones or oxtail bones
1/2 head or about 2 cups cabbage, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
4 to 6 tomatoes, diced or 1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 tblsp tomato paste
2 tsp salt
It all started because of these gorgeous tomatoes.
Dice the onion, 2 carrots, and 2 stalks celery. In a large stock pot, add a few drizzles of olive oil and saute the mire poix (that's the fancy French word for the mixture of carrots, celery, and onions) until softened.
Wash and add the beef bones and about 2 quarts of water to the pot. Slice and dice half a head of cabbage, 2 potatoes, and about 4 to 6 tomatoes and add them to the pot. If there's any room left, add enough water to cover the bones by several inches. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tblsp tomato paste.
Simmer on medium-low for about an hour. Before serving, fish out the beef bones, shred any meat still on the bones, and add the meat back into the pot.
Enjoy!
Other dishes served at this baby shower:
Bacon-wrapped Asparagus
Bruschetta al Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Bruschetta)
Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles
Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart
*****
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Wow, I had no idea there was a chinese version of borscht! It looks YUMMY!
ReplyDeleteThe next time you are at a jewish deli, see if they have sweet and sour cabbage soup - also tomato and cabbage based, but with brown sugar and lemon juice turning it into something light, tart and refreshing.
Oddlyme,
ReplyDeleteSince Russia and China are so close, seems natural for there to be some overlap, but I read somewhere that it was Russians in Hong Kong that actually influenced this version.
Sweet and sour cabbage soup sounds awesome. I'll have to keep that in mind.
What do you do to the mire poix? when do you put it in?
ReplyDeleteElizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThe mire poix was the first thing in the pot. Keep it there. You're just adding the rest of the soup ingredients into the pot.