Chicken & Veggies Wrap and Cabbage & Seafood Chowder

The weather is certainly turning chilly as we approached the end of the year with frequent thunder storms. At times like this, I would crave for a hot bowl of hearty soup that's creamy yet not too heavy.

I'm a big fan of Soup Stock Tokyo and it's a must to dine at least one meal there when in I'm in Tokyo. This time, I even bought the soup bowl and spoon :p Unfortunately there are only 2 shops in SG and both are far from where I stay and frequent :(

Anyways, this particular soup is inspired by the one I had in Tokyo last year, the Scallop and Napa Cabbage Yuzu Kosho Chowder. It was creamy and sweetness came from the napa cabbage and scallop, yet light and refreshing because of the cabbage and Yuzu Kosho flavouring.

Key ingredients are napa cabbage, scallop and Yuzu Kosho. I didn't have Yuzu Kosho and had to omit that. Came up with my own version with clam, dried scallop, streaky bacon, baby cabbage, carrot, onion, chicken stock and clam stock. To replace the Yuzu Kosho, I added a tiny splash of lemon juice and a few shreds of lemon peel just before serving. I must remember to get hold of Yuzu Kosho the next trip to a Japanese supermarket or Japan.

Cabbage and Seafood Chowder
(serves 3-4)

Ingredients

• 450ml clam broth (made using 1L water and 500g clam)
• 250ml chicken broth (made using chicken carcass, chicken feet, scraps of vegetables like onion, spring onion, celery, white radish, carrot etc)
• 1 small onion or 1/2 big onion, finely chopped
• 80g streaky bacon, diced
• 30g dried scallop, soaked in hot water for at least 30 mins, then shredded
• 40g clam meat, precooked (from the clam broth)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 100g baby napa cabbage (wa wa cai), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 pc small carrot, thinly sliced
• 100ml cooking cream
• Lemon juice, lemon peel 

Steps

1.  Heat up a pot with 1 tbsp olive oil, add the chopped onion and fry till translucent.
2. Add the bacon and fry till fragrant.
3. Next add the shredded scallop and clam meat, stir fry to mix.
4. Add the plain flour and stir till mixed with the ingredients.
5. Add the chicken stock and clam broth, let the soup come to a boil.
6. Add the cabbage and carrot. Boil on low heat till tender, remove any scums on the surface of the soup.
7. Stir in cooking cream slowly. 
8. Just before serving, add a splash of lemon juice and a few shreds of lemon peel.
9. Best served warm.

Hmmmmm, this is like a comfort soup to me. Surprisingly adding the lemon juice and lemon peel enhanced the overall taste of the soup, I like! Of course I believe yuzu will be better, next time when I get hold of some fresh yuzu. I added lesser amount of cream than the usual chowder soups because I wanted to keep the soup lighter. Feel free to add more cream.

To pair with the chowder, I made a simple chicken and veggies wrap. At Soup Stock Tokyo, soups are typically paired with bun or barley rice. But since I have some ready ingredients, decided to go luxe and have a wrap.

Ingredients are 6 grains tortilla wrap from Missions Food (won in a lucky draw), coral lettuce, carrot, cucumber, small pieces of chicken thigh and some Japanese mayonnaise. The chicken thighs are lightly marinated with sea salt and black pepper and grilled with some olive oil. The wrap is also grilled before wrapping the ingredients.

Yums! Wraps make a wholesome and hearty meal as well!

いただきます Itadakimasu!