Seafood Soup with Vegetables

In Asian cuisines, spices and herbs play a big role in flavoring dishes – soups, stir-fried, baked, and steamed. What kinds or combination of herbs and/or spices are used for each dish depends on which will naturally enhance the specific taste of each other. In this economy, I like to take the advice from chef, Sandra Lee, for using frozen food, if fresh is out of season. Cooking the Costco way is another way to save money because buying bulk food from this store usually results in big savings. Soup has been present in Asian meals since ancient times. We like to have soup for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In Asian cuisines, soups may be divided into two categories: light and heavy. The light soup recipe that I create here is characterized by a clear broth with the addition of seafood and vegetables. This type of soup is cooked briefly so that the ingredients maintain their original textures. Adding a few herbs from my windowsill garden together with fresh hot chili makes this soup a good choice for a quick light dinner.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. seafood combo (Costco)
8 oz tilapia fillet, cut into chunks
1/4 cup dried shrimp, grounded
5 shallots, sliced or 1/2 cup red onions, chopped
8 cups chicken stock
1 cup pumpkin, cut into pieces
1 cup button mushrooms, cut into pieces
1 medium potato, cut into pieces
1 medium carrot, cut into pieces
1 cup cabbage
2 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt,
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
Fresh hot chili, thinly sliced
1 cup of fresh basil
Green onions and cilantro for garnishing

Directions:
Thaw the seafood combo (it has shrimp, mussels, squid, and scallops) in a bowl.
In a medium pot, bring the stock to boil. Add ground dried shrimp, pumpkins, potato, garlic, red onions, or shallots and mushrooms. Bring it back to boil and simmer until all the vegetables are done. Add the seafood combo and fish. Season with fish sauce, salt, white pepper and sliced hot chili. Bring back to boil and cook further for 5 minutes. Add basil and turn the heat off. Ladle into a serving bowl. Garnish with green onions and cilantro. Serve hot.