Oyster Chowder

Weeks before, I was always away from home.  Business trip in Shanghai.  A day after, flight to Milan and then to Portugal.  Nice days, sunshine and new experience in Portugal.  Jetlag the whole week.  Late night and crazy work.  Tiresome accumulated.  It’s Friday, an evening that I can finally relax, to do things I like and experiment new recipes.  Yeah, oyster chowder.  Fresh vegetable soaked in tomato, rosemary and oregano.  A taste of just cooked oyster, a hint of the sea.  Succulent and unique oyster.  Fantastic!  The bonus is: healthy yet full of flavours!

1 onion, sliced
Oysters, as many as you like.  Just cook them before serving
4 button mushroom
1 glove garlic
Around 400ml water
Chicken powder
2 fresh tomato, diced and 1/2 can tomato
1 bay leaf
rosemary & oregano
1 zucchini
fresh parsely
olive oil

Saute the onion and mushroom until golden. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.

Add water, chicken powder, chopped tomatoes, rosemary and oregano.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes.

Add zucchini, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add oyster and simmer until just cooked, edges begin to curl.

Ladle the soup and oysters into bowls.  Sprinkle with parsely and serve immediately.

Seafood Soup (Bouillabaisse)

It has been quite some time that I wish to cook seafood soup (Bouillabaisse) but prohibited from the purchase and treatment of various ingredients.   But this time I managed to make it.  Fresh and nice!  The most labour work is to get different seafood and vegetables from the market.  Here is it!

It’s quite easy.  Sauté sliced union in avocado oil.  Add in diced fennel and sliced leek.  Put raw fish in for  cooking the soup, but not that for eating.  Add celery and carrots into the pot.  Pour in chardonnay and let it sweat for a few minutes till almost evaporated.  Pour in water, boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Take out the fish, some of the vegetables and soup.  Blend them until fine and pass the liquid through a sieve.   Put the drained soup back to the pot.  Boil the soup.  Add seafood like cod, prawn, clams and crab.  Turn off the heat once it reaches the boiling point.  Enjoy the soup with homemade Landbrot (German Country Bread) and a glass of Chardonnay.  Superb!  A marvelous Sunday lunch.  Sort of extravagance, with breeze from the window.

Idea is based on French Cooking Made Easy, but varied ingredients and seasoning. Inspiration is also from Tim Mälzer.

Thank you Lord for abundance in life.  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.”