Guay Jub (Chinese five spice soup)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup cilantro
1 cup bean sprouts
14 garlic cloves
4 tbsp oil
1/4 cup vinegar
6 Thai chilis
1 cinnamon
1 star anise
3 tbsp 5 spice powder
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp bouillon
8 cups of water
4 eggs
12 pieces of fried tofu
3 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp rock sugar
8 oz rice flake noodles
Instructions:
Prepare the condiments: chopped cilantro and green onions, place in a small bowl set aside. Wash and place bean sprouts aside.
Make fried garlic: grate 10 garlic cloves, in a small pan heat 2 tbsp of oil on high. When the oil is at 350F, add garlic. Stir garlic, until light golden brown and set aside in a bowl, oil & garlic.
Make the chili vinegar sauce: pour vinegar into a small bowl, finely chop chilis and stir into vinegar. Set aside.
In a large pot on medium heat, add 2 tbsp oil and 4 roughly chopped garlic. Stir well, add cinnamon, star anise, and 5 spice powder. Stir well, monitor the heat do not let burn. Add in white pepper, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, and bouillon. If adding meat, do it now, the best is cubed beef or pork. Stir well and add 8 cups of water.
Bring to a boil. While the soup is boiling bring a smaller pot of water to a boil, add 4 eggs cook for 6 minutes, and place THE eggs into an ice bath. Once the eggs are cold, (no more warmth on the shell), peel eggs and place them into boiling soup.
Turn soup down to a soft simmer and add tofu, palm sugar, and rock sugar. In a separate smaller pot bring water to a boil and add rice noodles. Cook for 9 minutes. Drain and place 1 serving into a bowl. Top with soup, tofu, meat (if using), and egg. Add the desired amount of cilantro, green onions, fried garlic, bean sprouts, and chili & vinegar mixture.
TIP: Add bok choy or root vegetables if you need a good meat substitue.
