Soup

[Wander]

Right then.
I want a good soup.

This started a couple of weeks back. I was in Morrisons and looking at the Chinese stuff and I saw a bowl (more like a bucket) of chicken flavour dried noodles.
'I'll give that a whirl for lunch at work,' I thought to myself.
It was lovely.
But what was best about it was the soup base.
Which made me think - I wonder if I can get that on its own?
I wondered if it might be some kind of miso soup. So I bought some. It was bloody foul - too fishy (I hate fish).
That wasn't it.

I know I probably won't get exactly the same, but it's got me thinking of a good soup that I can have when out for a walk in the chillier weather.
I don't want a tin of gloopy soup. Nor those powdery cup-a-soup monstrosities.
I prefer a thinner soup, something watery, rather than thick. More like a consomme.
But I want lots of flavour.

Any suggestions? Something I can get in a local supermarket would be best.

 

[crosslandkelly]

I use the cheapest Morrisons noodles. an Ainsley Harriot hot and spicy szechuan cup soup, and a 50g pack of beef jerky. Throw the lot in a bowl (minus the noodle flavouring and jerky desicated silica), add hot water and 4 mins later, a tasty filling meal.

 

[Toddy]

Marigold Stock powder, or Kallo stock powder, I think Knorr do one too......note the powder bit.
You can make it up and drink it as is, or you can beef it up with flaked chilli or a little ground ginger and garlic, or dried mushrooms and black pepper. I like dried seaweed in my soup, and quickly rehydratable veggies, like spring onions, lemongrass, seaweed, but you can add pretty much any combination of stuff you like to the basic base.

I'm allergic to fish, so I'm really fussy over my miso. They don't all have fish or taste of fish. The 'soup bases' that do are usually made with dried and flaked up remnants of prawns. It even sounds gross to me.

The stock powders though, those are good. Lidl's occasionally do a big jar of stock powder, something like half a kg for £1.49. It's very good indeed, but a little salty. Again, it's a good base. I think you might find something similar in the Polish or Caribbean sections of the supermarket World Foods range.

M

 

[Nice65]

I’m reckoning the like for the soup base is the umami from MSG. I’m the same, I like the stuff. In SE Asia you see bicycles loaded with poly bags of liquid chicken stock, noodles and fresh veg, it’s Thai cup-a-soup, but the Thais love that strong, fresh made chicken stock. There’s a veg Polish brand called Kucharek which is pretty much the same as the Lidl big jars Toddy describes. I reckon both on their own as broths are much too salty, but incredibly tasty. Marigold I used to love, but the last cup I had was a bit flavourless and mouth crinklingly salty. There’s a low salt version, but that also lacks flavour.

Maybe try a blend? I used to do Oxo and Marigold together, improved with a sachet of tomato ketchup. A bit of Kucharek and a decent chicken cube might be worth a try.

I miss the old dry Bovril cubes that could be crumbled into a cup, you could leave them in a bag for weeks and then discover them again. instead we now have an oily thing like a Knorr cube that needs breaking in half, then leaks, and isn’t the same. Oxo to me is insipid but has its fans. Good luck with the search, I’ve been looking for years for the same thing.

 

[Wander]

Oh dear, this doesn't sound too promising.
I'm not a big fan of salt either.

I'd say there's a Dragon's Den business proposition in this...

 

[Toddy]

Could be, could be
Both Marigold and Kallo stock powders come in Low Salt though.
I have, and use both. If you do use them, it's very much worth while buying the kg size tub, it works out an awful lot cheaper.

Fruishion sell all kinds of vegetable, herb and seasoning powders if you want to make your own.
I buy from them, and their produce is very good. Quickly delivered too.

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The sun dried tomato pieces are really, really tasty, just as a munchie

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Sounds like your on about stock. Stock is where the flavour really comes from. Simple stock cubes do a great job, but the knorr jelly pot things are really nice, this time of year the supermarkets sell proper stock but you can easily make your own from a roast carcass and some roughly chopped veggies. That will be super tasty.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

I was going to say stick, everyone ekse already has. Soup is really just stuff you like or have left over cooked in stock. When i make them, i use those knorr cubes, but never a whole one as they contain enough salt to kill a class of primary school children.

 

[Billy-o]

Yes they are just chicken flavoured salt, the Knorr cubes, but I love them. That Better Than Bouillon stuff in a jar is good. The kids' recent favourite is a scoop of veg Better Than Bouillon with smoked paprika and garlic as a base for something bigly rustic - potatoes, broccoli, carrots and beans.

The starch from barley, pasta or potatoes is the thing that makes a difference to the character of the soup.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

Yes they are just chicken flavoured salt, the Knorr cubes, but I love them.

I use the ones that are vegetarian flavour. I think they are nearly pure salt

 

[Toddy]

I don't often use stock cubes, much preferring the powder, but I do use Vecon paste, which is salty, and I do use the Kallo very low salt stock cubes.

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[Imagedude]

Ebay has a few options, try searching for powder stock, chicken stock etc

 

[Tengu]

Id love a chicken carcase but my Father (for one time) is a good planner and only gets the bits he feels he needs...

I dont think he understands the value of a chicken carcase.

 

[Nice65]

Id love a chicken carcase but my Father (for one time) is a good planner and only gets the bits he feels he needs...

I dont think he understands the value of a chicken carcase.

Send you one for a few metres of excess camo tape?

I’m sure you can get yourself a chicken, do him a roast or casserole, sandwiches the next day, get a stock out of it, and all for about a fiver. It’s a false economy buying it disassembled just for the one meal. I’m happy to do that for convenience sometimes, like two chicken breasts for an easy roast (skin on please supermarkets, I’ll take it off if I want to), or drumsticks and thighs for frying and barbecuing, but for you two a whole chicken is your best and cheapest option.

 

[Tengu]

Humph.

He just wants a breast or thigh, no legs and he has no use for stews, -He likes meals with everything separate. (And Blackie gets the skin, which IMHO is the most valuable part of the bird...he loves that)

And he doesnt put things into storage. (unlike me who gets meat when she sees it marked down and freezes it) He gets just as much as he needs.

(Do not get me on the subject of those half sized baked bean tins...)

our eating habits are very different; its a surprise we manage so well in the kitchen.

 

[Allison McKenzie]

Humph.

He just wants a breast or thigh, no legs

My man just wants breasts and thighs too

 

[Tengu]

You mean to say he doesnt like stews either?

 

[Allison McKenzie]

You mean to say he doesnt like stews either?

Yes, that is what I mean

 

[Tengu]

Stews are the best thing ever.

Wanting everything separate is so boring.

And stews are easier to cook

 

[Allison McKenzie]

And if you put a stick blender in a stew you get a lovely thick soup.

Aren't men a curse?