seafood soup pasta

Weather is getting cold, which means soup season is here! This dish looks complicating, but it only takes 30 minutes to cook. No sugar is added, yet it has very sweet flavor from all the ingredients. My 2 and half year old loved it and so did my hubby. Hope your family will like it, too. Happy cooking! (The recipe is for four large servings)

Ingredients: 

Spaghetti -1 box (or however much you need)

Onion - 1 small (chopped)
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)
Bacon - 3 slices (chopped)
Carrots - 2 medium (cubed)
Mushroom - 4 medium (sliced) 

Chicken stock - 5 cups **see TIPS
Tomatoes (can) - 1 can (chopped)

Shrimp (no tail) - 1 cup 
Salmon - 1 fillet
Tilapia (or white) fish - 1 fillet

[Seasonings]
Salt & Pepper - 1 tsp each
Tomato ketchup - 2 TBS
Milk - 1/3 cup
Oregano (dried) -  2 tsp
Basil (dried) - 2 tsp

Prep:

1. Chop/slice onion, carrots, mushroom, garlic and bacon. Size should be anywhere from 1/2 inch to 1 inch. 
2. Cut salmon and tilapia into 2 inch chunks. Rub lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Take off the tails off shrimp (optional). 
4. Cook spaghetti as instructed on the box. Rinse with cold water and mix with 1 TBS of olive oil. 

Cook:

1. In at least 5 quart pot, heat 1/2 TBS of olive oil. When it's hot, add onion and fry for 3 minutes, or until transparent. Add in 1 TBS of minced garlic. Add in bacon. Fry for another 3 minute. Add in carrots and fry for extra 3 minutes.
2. Add in chicken stock and canned tomatoes. Bring it to boil. Take out the white stuff on top of the pot.
3. Add in shrimp, salmon and tilapia. Let it simmer under medium heat for 10 minutes. 
4. Add in seasonings and stir lightly (don't mix too hard or you'll break the fish into small pieces). Cover and let it simmer for 10 more minutes. Check the taste and adjust according to your taste.

Serve:

1. In a bowl, add desired amount of cooked spaghetti. Pour in the soup & yummy seafood. 
2. Garlic bread or Grilled cheese sandwich goes well this dish, too!

TIPS

• For chicken stock, use the carton or can version, which has lighter taste than the Chinese stock cubes. If you don't like the flavor of chicken stock, you can use water instead.  

wild rice soup - version 2

Few months ago I posted a recipe for wild rice soup. This is another version, stuffed with more ingredients. I also added less flour so it's not as thick as last time. We like this version better -- probably because of the 'umami' from mushrooms. (The soup looks like the previous one, so I didn't take the picture. Sorry!)

Ingredients: 

Chicken breast - 1
Chicken stock - 4 cups
Water - 2 cups
Quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet - 1 (6 ounce)
Mixed vegetables - 1 cup (or more if you like)
Onion - 1/2 med (chopped)
White Mushroom - 5 large (chopped)

Seasoning for chicken (Taco or carne asada seasoning) - 1 TBS

Butter - 1/2 cup (1 stick)
Salt & Pepper - 1/2 tsp each (or more, depending on your taste)
Flour - 2-3 TBS taken out from 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cups

Prep:

1. Cook chicken breast for 10-15 minutes in boiling water. Shred it and mix with taco seasoning or carne asada seasoning.
2. Cut onion and mushroom into cubes.
3. Take the seasoning packet from the quick cooking rice box. 
4. Combine flour, salt & pepper. 

Cook:

1. In a 5-quart pot, heat chicken stock, water and chicken until boil. 
2. Turn off the heat once it's boiled. Add in long grain and wild rice (not the seasoning packet). Cover and set it aside. Make sure the heat is off. 
3. In another pot, heat 1 TBS of olive oil. Fry onion and mushroom for 5 minutes. Add to the chicken stock mixture. 
4. Add 1/2 stick of butter on the pot used for mushroom/onion. Once it's melted, add in the seasoning from the rice box. Mix until bubbly. Add in flour mixture all at once. Mix constantly to form a ball. Slowly, add in milk. Keep stirring using whisk so the milk will incorporate well with the flour mixture.
5. Add the milk mixture and mixed vegetable to chicken stock/water/chicken mixture. 
6. Heat for 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Don't let it boil - simmer.

Serve:

1. Serve with butter-garlic-toast: Heat 1 TBS of butter onto frying pan. Fry bread for 2 minutes on one side, turn with more butter. Sprinkle garlic powder on top. Fry until edges are nice and brown. Serve while it's hot.

roasted tomato soup

This tomato soup turned out really yummy and flavorful. It goes perfectly with grilled cheese sandwich (my craving these days) or with toasted bread sticks or sour dough. Fresh basil leaves  definitely give deeper flavor than the dried ones. 

Ingredients: 

Tomatoes - 12 regular or 15 Roma tomatoes (5 lbs)
Garlic - 8-10 cloves (minced)
Olive oil - 1/4 cup

Onion - 1 large
Chicken stock - 2 cups
Water - 1/2 cup
Paprika - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Crushed red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp

Heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup
Fresh basil - few leaves (chopped) 

Prep:

1. Cut tomatoes in half (or quarter if using bigger tomatoes). Take out the seeds. 
2. Mince garlic. Combine with 1/4 cup of olive oil.
3. Cut onion into cubes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cook:

1. Toss tomatoes in garlic/oil. Put it a baking dish big enough (should be single layer, but you can use 13 by 9 pan).
2. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set it aside. **see TIPS
3. In a pot (larger than 5 quart), heat 1 TBS of oil. Fry chopped onion until tender (about 3-4 minutes). 
4. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, water, and all the seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool slightly.
5. In a blender, process/puree soup until smooth. Pour back into the pot.
6. Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and make sure to heat through (put on low for 5-7 minutes).

Serve:

1. Garnish soup with fresh basil and sprinkle of paprika.
2. Serve with fresh bread sticks or grilled cheese sandwich. 

TIPS

• If you prefer a smoother soup texture or if you don't have super powerful blender, peel off the skin from the tomatoes after roasting. Take out from the oven, cool slightly and peel off. 

old-fashioned beef stew/soup

My husband's parents are awesome cooks, so are his extended family members. This recipe is a slightly tweaked version from his aunt who cooks really well. You can tell that she's a good cook when you see her children love to cook, too. Is cooking hereditary? When I got married, she wrote in a cookbook (her gift to us), "A full stomach is a good start to a marriage. Have a great marriage filled with many exciting meals!" 
This soup turned out really good and hearty - perfect for negative 16F degrees weather. :) It looks simple, but it's full of flavors!

Ingredients: 

Boneless beef round steak - 1 lb (1 inch cube)

[Beef marinade] 
Soy sauce - 1 TBS
Garlic salt - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp

Chicken or Beef stock - 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tsp
Bay leaves - 2 med or 3 small (med = 1 inch)
Garlic - 3 cloves (minced)
Paparika - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/4 tsp

Carrots - 3 med or 4 small
Potatoes - 4 med or 5 small
Onions - 1 big
Tomatoes - 2 big

[For stew]
Cornstarch - 1 TBS
Water - 2 TBS

Prep: 

1. Cut beef into 1 inch chunks. In a bowl or Ziplock bag, add beef marinade. Massage the meat with your hands for 3-4 minutes. Set it aside for at least 20 minutes. 
2. Cut the veggies in 1 inch chunks (you can cut onion smaller if you wish). Set them aside. 
3. Mince garlic.

Cook:

1. In a large pot (at least 5 quart), add 1-2 TBS of olive oil. Fry minced garlic and add marinaded beef and brown them on both sides. 
2. Add in 2 cups of beef or chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for an hour. Stir occasionally. **see TIPS
3. Add veggies and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes until vegetables are tender.
4. [If you want stew] Combine 2 TBS of water and 1 TBS of cornstarch slurry. Simmer soup until thickened. 
5. Season with salt. 

Serve:

1. It goes really well with rice. You can even add pasta inside to make it into a soup pasta. Yum! 

TIPS

• If you don't like strong herby taste, discard bay leaves after simmering the soup for the first hour (before you add veggies). 

corn potato bacon soup

One good thing about living in cold Minnesota is... soups taste so much better! It's not only tasty, but it keeps us warm. So here's a new recipe for the soup. It wasn't heavy, so you can keep going for more servings (but it hits you afterwards since you'll be filled up with potatoes). 

Ingredients: 

Potatoes - 3 cups (cubed)
Carrots - 3-4 medium or 1 cup (cubed)
Onion - 1 med (chopped)
Corn - 3 cobs or 1 can (liquid drained)
Celery - 2-3 stalks (cubed)
Bacon - 5 slices (cut in small pieces) **see TIPS

Chicken Stock - 5 cups **see Prep

Green diced chilies - 1 small can
Milk - 2 cups
Brown gravy mix - 1/4 cup or
Mexican blend shredded cheese - 1 cup (or more, depending on how cheesy you want)

Salt, pepper and paprika - to taste 

Prep:

1. Chop and cube all ingredients. Set it aside. 
2. [Corn] If you are using fresh corn, boil the corn for 3 minutes. Take it out, let it cool, and shave off the kernels. 
3. [Chicken stock] If you have leftover rotisserie chicken bones, boil them in 4 quart water for 30-40 minutes on medium high. Drain the soup and discard the bones. 

Cook:

1. In a pot (5 quart of bigger), fry bacon until somewhat crunchy - about 3-4 minutes. 
2. Add onion, carrots and celery to bacon. Fry for another 3-4 minutes.
3. Add in chicken stock. Let it bring to boil (don't cover). Turn down to medium heat and add in potatoes and corn. Add in green diced chilies as well. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. 
4. Meanwhile, heat milk in microwave safe bowl or cup. Add in gravy mix and mix well with the milk.
5. When the potatoes are soft, add in milk/gravy. Bring to boil. 
6. Turn down the heat to low, add in cheese. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste to see if you need to add salt and pepper. You can add paprika for some kick as well. If it's too salty, you can add more chicken broth, water or milk. 

All mixed in!

Serve:

1. Serve with warm bread sticks or toasts (with lots of butter on!). Nice salad on the side will go well, too.
2. We also had it with shrimp/fish tacos (recipes coming up soon), which was a nice addition. 

 TIPS:

• If you don't want to use bacon, or want to use other meat like chicken or ham, add 2 TBS of butter or olive oil to the pot. 

cioppino {italian seafood stew}

 One of our favorite places to eat in California is Phil's Fish Market. Their cioppino is so yummy, even chef Bobby Flay couldn't beat Phil in cioppino cook-off. :) This year for Christmas, my husband wanted to try making his own version of cioppino. It turned out really good and it was very simple to make. It's hearty and warms you up -- perfect for Christmas dinner! We got the original recipe from Whole Foods, which is my husband's favorite store to shop for good food.

Ingredients:

Garlic - 4 cloves
Red pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp
Yellow onion - 1 large (chopped finely)
Fennel - 1 bulb
Green bell pepper - 1 med
Diced tomatoes - 1 (28 oz) can
Kale - 2 cups (chopped in big pieces)

Chicken broth - 2 cups
White wine - 1 1/2 cup [optional - replace with chicken stock]
Tomato paste - 2 TBS
Dried oregano - 1 tsp
Dried thyme - 1 tsp
Dried basil - 2 tsp
Salt & pepper - to taste

[Seafood goodness] **see TIPS
Cod fish - 1 lb
Crab meat - 1 tub (8 oz)
Medium shrimp - 1 lb (tails on)
Mussels - 1 lb

French baguette - however much you need **see TIPS
Olive oil or butter - for brushing
Garlic salt - dash

Prep:

1. Chop garlic and onion finely.
2. Trim, core and slice fennel. (we didn't know how, so we checked out online. Here)
3. Cut green peppers in slices (discard seeds)
4. Chop Kale and wash couple of times. 
5. [Seafood] Cut cod fish into 1-inch pieces. Shell and de-vein medium shrimp (leave the tail on if you like), wash mussels if they are not prepared beforehand. **see TIPS

Cook:

1. In a large pot (at least 7-8 quart), heat 2 TBS oil and fry garic, red pepper flakes, onion, fennel, bell pepper and kale until softened - about 5-7 minutes. 
2. Stir in can tomatoes (put the whole thing with liquid and all), broth, wine and tomato paste. Stir in seasonings - oregano and thyme. Bring soup to boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes. 
4. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the french baguette into 1/2 inch thick. Brush olive oil onto the surface, sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt. You can use butter if you prefer more butterly taste.  Bake for 7 minutes on one side, flip on the other side and bake for another 8 minutes.
5. [Seafood] Add in fish and crab in the broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Don't over stir or else the fish will break into small pieces. 
6. [Seafood] Add in shrimp and mussels. Cover and simmer for about 5-7 minutes. Make sure the mussels are open. 
7. Season with basil, salt and pepper.

Serve:

1. Serve soup hot with freshly baked bread. A nice refreshing salad on the side will be good, too.
2. Don't forget sparkling cider to celebrate! 

TIPS

• I found all the ingredients in Costco. Get the tail-on, raw, de-veined shrimp from frozen section. Crab meat is a can one. For mussel, they usually have packaged prepared ones (not frozen, so check at refrigerated section). If you can't find mussel, they sell can clams, which is a good substitution. 
• French baguette from Costco is really yummy, too!
• Not a big fan of baguette? Use sourdough bread instead. You can even core out round sourdough bread and pour the soup inside, just like at Phil's.

holiday leftovers: prime rib tomato soup

In our family, we don't have turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas. We have prime rib instead! We like bone-in so we can use the bones as stock for soup. It's hearty and the best part is, you get to finish your leftovers! So give prime rib a chance for your next holiday dinner. :)

Ingredients:

Prime Rib bones with some meat  on - 4 big bones (cut in half)

Water - 4 quart
Roma Tomatoes - 3 small or 2 med (wedges)
Potatoes - 3 med (wedges)
Carrots - 3 small or 2 med (wedges)
Onion - 1 med (cubed)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Prep:

1. Cut the prime rib bones in half (or in threes if you prefer smaller pieces). If you don't have knife strong enough to cut the bones, just put the whole bones in (don't destroy your knife!)
2. Wash and cut all veggies. Set aside. 

Cook:

1. Heat 4 quart water in 5 quart (or bigger) pot. Bring to boil.
2. Add in prime rib bones & meat and onion. Cover and boil for 10 minutes under high heat. You might need to open the lid half way through.
3. Turn down the heat to medium heat. Add in carrots. Let it cook for 10 more minutes. 
4. Turn down the heat to medium low, add in carrots and tomatoes. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. I cooked it for about an hour on low heat.
5. Taste the soup. Add salt & pepper if you like.

Serve:

1. Serve with warm bread sticks or side of rice will be nice, too. 

butajiru - super miso soup

Do you feel like having only soup and rice? Then this soup got everything you need to give satisfying feeling. It's basically miso soup, but it's loaded with veggies and meat. Buta means pork ('pig') and jiru means soup, so it's translated to pork soup. :) It's also a great 'extra' dish that's easy to make.

Ingredients:

Carrots - 2 med (thinly sliced)
Potatoes - 2 small (thinly sliced)
Pork meat - 1 cup
Shiitake mushroom - 1/2 cup (thinly sliced)
Onion - 1 small (thinly sliced)
Firm Tofu - 1cup (cubed)
Daikon (raddish) - 1/2 cup (thinly sliced)
Green onion -  2 stalks (chopped)

[Pork marinade]
Salt & white pepper - 1/2 tsp each
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp

Miso paste - 3 TBS
Water - 3 quarts (5 cups-ish)
Dashi - 2 tsp **see TIPS

Optional addition - 
Gobo (burdock) - 1/2 cup (thinly sliced)
Enoki mushroom - 1/2 bunch (ends cut and washed)
Sweet potato - 1 med (thinly sliced)
Konnyaku (Japanese yam cake) - 1/2 cup (thinly sliced)

Prep:

1. Slice pork and marinade them. Set it aside for 20 minutes.
2. Cut all vegetables in thin slices (julienne)
3. Cube tofu.
4. Chop green onion and set it aside in airtight container.

Cook:

1. Heat water in 4 or 5-quart pot. Add dashi, mushroom and onion. Let it bring to boil.
2. Add in rest of the ingredients, except tofu and konnyaku (if you are adding it). Reduce heat to medium and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add in Miso paste. Mix well (but not too hard or you'll have mushed potatoes) **see TIPS 
4. Add in tofu and konnyaku at the end and boil for another 5 minutes. Adjust taste. 

Serve:

1. Sprinkle green onion on the soup. Serve with rice. 
2. It also goes well with udon noodle. 

 TIPS

• Some miso paste already comes with dashi inside. In that case, you don't need to add dashi powder. 
• If you are not a big fan of dashi, you can just omit it. It still gives great taste. I will also try to attempt making my own dashi stock someday and post the recipe! [I'm lazy, so I'm not getting around to it yet]
• To avoid getting mushy butajiru,  you can dissolve miso in using ladle - put miso on ladle, get some hot water from the soup and using a spoon or chopstick, dissolve the miso in the ladle.

chicken & wild rice soup

The weather is changing and it's flu season again. We were all sick at home the past few days and we were tired of eating porridge, so we decided to explore into this famous Minnesota wild rice soup. It turned out really good and hearty. Not feeling well? This soup will make you feel better. :) 

Ingredients: 

Rotisserie Chicken - 1/2 (about 1 lbs) or chicken breast (2, cooked)
Chicken stock - 4 cups
Water - 2 cups
Quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet - 1 (6 ounce)
Broccoli - 1 head (cut into small pieces)

Butter - 1/2 cup (1 stick)
Salt & Pepper - 1/2 tsp each
Flour - 1/2 cup
Milk - 2 cups **see TIPS

Prep:

1. Shred rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breast. 
2. Cut broccoli into small pieces and blench for 2 minutes in the boiling water. Set it aside.
3. Take the seasoning packet from the quick cooking rice box. 
4. Combine flour, salt & pepper.

Cook:

1. In a 5-quart pot, heat chicken stock, water and chicken until boil. 
2. Turn off the heat once it's boiled. Add in long grain and wild rice (not the seasoning packet). Cover and set it aside. Make sure the heat is off. 
3. In another pot, melt butter. Once it's melted, add in the seasoning from the rice box. Mix until bubbly. 
4. Add in flour mixture all at once. Mix constantly to form a ball. 
5. Slowly, add in milk. Keep stirring using whisk so the milk will incorporate well with the flour mixture.
6. Add the milk mixture and broccoli to chicken stock/water/chicken mixture. Heat for 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Stir using wooden spatula until nice and creamy. 

Serve:

1. Serve with freshly baked bread sticks/rolls. 

TIPS

• You can use milk, buttermilk or heavy milk for this. The soup can get pretty thick, so low-fat milk is perfect. 

kimchee jjigae (woo family style)

We love Kimchee jjigae! But if any Korean people eat our kimchee jjigae, they probably say it's not authentic kimchee jjigae. We put a lot of things in the stew - our favorite ingredient is SPAM. I moved to a very cold state, so we will be eating a lot of this in the winter (and other soups, too.) What is your kimchee jjigae like? Please share with me your version of kimchee soup. :)

Ingredients:

Kimchee (cabbage) - 1 cup
Kimchee (raddish) - 1 cup

Water - 5-6 cups
Miso - 1.5 TBS (**see TIPS)
Kojujyan (Korean chili paste) - 1.5 TBS
Garlic - 2 cloves (crushed)
Sugar - 1 TBS
Soy sauce - 2 tsp

Carrots - 2 small (thin slices)
Onion - 1 small (sliced)
Bacon - 3 slices (cut in 1 inch piece)Shiitake mushroom - 6 (sliced)
SPAM - as much as you like (cut in dice)
Chapchae noodle or instant noodle - 1 bundle (**see TIPS)
Tofu (silken/soft) - 1 packet
Green onion - 2 stalks (chopped)
Spinach - 3 cups (or 1 bunch)

[Chicken/pork meatball]

Ground chicken - 1 cup
Ground pork - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 small (diced)
Garlic - 1 clove (minced)
Panko (breadcrumbs) - 1/3 cup
Egg white - 1
Pepper & salt - 1 tsp each
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Carrots (optional) - 1/2 small (diced)

Prep:

1. Cut all ingredients and set is aside.
2. Cook chapchae noodle according to packet. Drain & rince.
3. [Meatball] Mix all ingredients under meatball. Make 1 inch ball (toss the ball back and forth using your hands)

Mix all ingredients - use your hands and mix well!

Chapchae noodle

Cook: 

1. In about 4-quart pot, bring water, garlic, miso, and kojujyan to boil. 
2. Add in Kimchee (both kinds), carrots and onion. Boil for 5 minutes. 
3. Lower the heat and add in SPAM, Bacon, Meatball and shiitake. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add in sugar and mix well. Taste the soup and adjust if needed (too salty? add in more water). Simmer for 10 more minutes.
5. If you're happy with the taste, add in tofu, noodle, green onion and spinach. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. 

As you can see, the previous pot was too small to fit everything! :)

Serve: 

1. It goes perfectly with hot short-grain (Japanese/Calrose) rice. 

TIPS

• If you like more kimchee taste, add dashi instead of miso. Miso makes the taste mild. 
• You can use Korean instant noodle or udon instead of chapchae noodle.
• Use a bigger pot - when you add all the ingredients, the pot gets very full.

cabbage roll soup

Do you have hard time finishing up the whole cabbage before it goes bad? Yes, I have this problem. So whenever we buy big cabbage (like Taiwanese cabbage), I take the first 6-7 layers off and save them for roll cabbage filled with meat and veggies. It's one of my favorite things growing up. This dish can be Chinese style, Japanese style or Western style, all depending on what kind of chicken stock you use. Western chicken stocks tend to be lighter in color and taste. Whereas Chinese chicken stock tends to be stronger in flavor.

Ingredients: 

Cabbage leaves - 6 or 7

[Meat filling]
Ground pork or turkey - 1 lbs
Onion - 1/2 med (chopped)
Carrots - 2 med (chopped)
Egg white - 1
Flour (or bread crumbs) - 1/4 cup **see TIPS
Salt & Pepper - 1 tsp each
Soy sauce - 2 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves (minced)

[optional stuffing]
Mushroom
Celery
Cooked spinach

[Soup]
Water - about 3 quarts
Chicken stock cube - 1 and half

OR

Chicken stock (can or carton) - fill 3 quarts

Cooking string, toothpicks or wooden sticks

Prep:

1. Chop onion, carrots and other optional stuffing. Mince garlic.
2. Mix all meat fillings (and optional stuffing) with spoon or hand. Separate into 6-7 parts (depending on how many cabbage leaves you are using). Make into a ball and throw from one hand to another and let the air out a bit. 
3. In a pot, bring water to boil. When it's ready, boil cabbage leaves for 1 minute (until it gets soft). You can do it all together or in two batches.  Drain and cool a bit.

If you have picky eaters, grind all veggies in a blender

Blanched cabbage is easy to work with

Cook:

1. In a 5 quart pot (or bigger), boil chicken stock.
2. Place the cabbage leaf, the hard part towards you, put one part of meat filling in the middle. Wrap the meat filling by first taking the hard part over the meat, take the two sides and then continue rolling from down going up. Repeat for all cabbage rolls. Put toothpick or wooden stick in the middle so it won't come apart (you can also use cooking strings).
3. Place the cabbage rolls in the chicken stock. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. Make sure the cabbage rolls are nice and close so it won't come apart. (**see TIPS)

 

The pot was a bit too small :)

Serve:

1. You can take the string, toothpicks or wooden stick out before serving.
2. You can add pasta in it to make into a pasta soup. Or you can eat with rice. 

TIPS

• Bread crumbs in the meat filling will give a heavier texture. You can omit flour or bread crumbs and just add less egg whites. 
• If you only have long wooden stick, just cut it into desired length
• You can add veggies to the soup so it'll be like chicken noodle soup, except with cabbage rolls. :)
• Not a big fan of soggy, mushy cabbage? Then you can cook the cabbage rolls for 20 minutes. the longer you cook, the mushier it gets.