Cold weather comfort food - Soups and Stews

[DrQ]

With the cold weather, we have been craving savory, stick to your ribs meals to keep us satisfied. I saw a recipe for Sauerkraut Sausage Soup. It sounded great, so I adapted it for our ingredients and for cooking in an InstantPot. Here is my take on the recipe:

InstantPot Sausage and Sauerkraut Soup

1 pound sliced mushrooms​

4 Tbsp salted butter​

1 cup yellow onion, chopped​

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour​

2 Tbsp sweet paprika​

2 tsp caraway seeds​

1 bunch dill, stems finely chopped, leaves chopped, reserved separately​

2½ quarts low-sodium chicken broth or water​

3 pounds pork baby back ribs, cut between the bones into 2-rib sections​

1 pound smoked ham hock​

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ½-inch cubes​

1 pound kielbasa sausage, quartered lengthwise and sliced ½ inch thick​

2 cups drained refrigerated sauerkraut, plus ¼ cup sauerkraut brine​

Kosher salt and ground black pepper​

Directions:

1. Cut mushrooms into bite sized pieces. Set InstantPot on Saute High heat. Melt the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until browned. Add the flour, paprika, caraway and dill stems; cook, stirring, until the flour begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. Add the ribs and ham hock, then return to a simmer. Turn off Saute. Put on pressure cooking lid and seal. Set for High pressure cooking for 25 minutes without keep warm. After the cooking cycle allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes release any remaining pressure and remove lid.
2. Using tongs, transfer the ribs and ham hock to a large plate. Add the potatoes and sausage to the pot and bring to a simmer over saute. Reduce to low and cook, uncovered and stirring, until the potatoes are just shy of tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the meat from the ribs and hock into bite-size pieces; discard the bones, fat and gristle.
3. When the potatoes are almost tender, stir in the sauerkraut and shredded meat; cook, stirring, until the potatoes are fully tender, about 5 minutes. Off heat, stir in the sauerkraut brine and dill leaves. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with a crusty French bread baguette.

Notes:
I have noted that the pressure cooking may extract more fat that other methods. If there is too much, you can either skim off the fat or run the soup broth through a fat separator.
For some additional spiciness, you can use sausage with jalapeno in place of the kielbasa

 

[Maplel33s1e#]

Stir-Fried Pork Intestines with Green Peppers:

Ingredients:​

• 500g pork intestines (cleaned thoroughly)
• 2-3 green peppers (sliced into strips)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 small onion (sliced)
• 1-inch ginger (sliced thinly)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon vinegar (for blanching)
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1-2 dried chili peppers (optional, for spice)
• Salt to taste

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Instructions:​

1. Clean the Pork Intestines:​

1. Wash the pork intestines thoroughly under running water.
2. Turn them inside out and scrape off any residue using a knife.
3. Soak them in a bowl of water with vinegar for 10–15 minutes to remove the odor. Rinse again and set aside.

2. Boil the Intestines:​

1. In a pot, bring water to a boil and add a tablespoon of vinegar and a few slices of ginger.
2. Add the pork intestines and boil for 20–30 minutes or until tender.
3. Remove from heat, let them cool, and slice into bite-sized pieces.

3. Stir-Fry:​

1. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Sauté the garlic, onion, and ginger until fragrant.
3. Add the boiled pork intestines and stir-fry for 2–3 minutes until slightly browned.
4. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and cooking wine. Stir well.
5. Toss in the green peppers (and dried chili peppers, if using) and cook for another 3–4 minutes until peppers are tender but still crisp.
6. Season with ground black pepper and salt to taste.

4. Serve:​

• Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy hot with steamed rice.

I tried it during a day tour with https://gowithguide.com/China and since then, I always crave it.