Tortilla Soup and More Videos!

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That’s right, more videos! In case you had been wondering about my somewhat sparse posting during the month of January, here’s the reason why. Over the past couple of weeks I have been brainstorming, testing, filming, and editing a brand new food video featuring one of my all-time favorite foods—Tortilla Soup. In between the video business I also went back to school for the spring semester as well as took on some more hours at work, hence such a rather inordinate time away from my dear blog.

Explanations aside, I’m really excited to have made another food video as well as start little side project on YouTube as part of my efforts to learn Korean. It’s called “Monthly Language Report” and it basically involves filming a video of yourself each month in the language you’re learning in order to track your progress and see your improvement as time goes on. Besides being a fun hobby for the new year, I especially wanted to participate in this project because it's affiliated with Talk To Me In Korean, the fantastic website where I have been doing the majority of my Korean studies. They’ve got such a great website and have built a wonderful, interesting community around it.


So, whether you’d like to learn how to make what I consider to be the best Tortilla Soup recipe ever (not that I’m bragging or anything…) or whether you’d like to see a Monthly Language Report in action, check out the videos and recipes below!


Tortilla Soup—English version…

Sopa de Tortilla—versión Española…

And my Monthly Language Report, with some subtitles for my readers who, like me, are not completely fluent in Korean.



Tortilla Soup
A La Kocinera Original Recipe
Printable Recipe
 
2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeds included, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 16-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Handful fresh cilantro, chopped
 
First, cook the chicken breasts. My favorite way to prepare them is baking—first, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat the chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place them in a baking pan and bake for 40 minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes, and then shred the meat either with your hands or two forks. Set the shredded chicken aside to add to the soup later.
Heat the canola or vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook this mixture for about 5 minutes, until softened, stirring frequently. Then add the cumin and chili powder, letting it cook for another minute, stirring frequently.
Add the crushed tomatoes, pinto beans, shredded chicken, chicken broth, water, dark brown sugar, and kosher salt to the onion mixture, stirring to combine. Add freshly-ground black pepper, to taste. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the zucchini are tender.
Serve warm with fresh cilantro, plus sour cream, tortilla strips, and avocado.
 
 
Sopa de Tortilla
Una Receta Original de La Kocinera
Receta Imprimible
 
2 cucharadas aceite vegetal o aceite canola
2 dientes de ajo, picados finamente
1 cebolla amarilla, picada
1 jalapeño, semillas incluidas, picado finamente
1 ½ cucharaditas comino molido
1 cucharadita ají molido
2 calabacines, cortados en cuartos y después en rebanadas pequeñas
1 lata de 15 onzas de tomates machucados
1 lata de 16 onzas de frijoles pintos, escurridos y enjuagados
2 pechugas de pollo cocinadas, cortadas o ralladas en trocitos pequeños
4 tazas caldo de pollo bajo en sodio
2 tazas agua
1 cucharada azúcar moreno oscuro (dark brown sugar)
1 cucharadita sal kosher
Pimienta recién molida, al gusto.
Un puñado cilantro fresco, picado
 
Primero, prepare las pechugas de pollo. Mi manera favorita de hacerlo es lo siguiente—primero, caliente el horno a 350 grados (150 grados centígrados). Ligeramente cubra las pechugas de pollo con aceite de oliva y sazónelas con sal y pimienta, al gusto. Póngalas en una fuente de horno y hornéelas por 40 minutos. Sáquelas del horno y déjelas reposar por 10-15 minutos, y después corte o ralle la carne con las manos o con dos tenedores. Ponga el pollo aparte para añadir a la sopa más tarde.
Caliente el aceite vegetal o aceite canola en una olla grande a fuego medio-alto. Después de unos momentos, añada la cebolla, el ajo, y el jalapeño. Cocine por 5 minutos, hasta que todo esté tierno, revolviéndolo frecuentemente. Después incorpore el comino y el ají molido, dejándolos cocinar por un minuto más, revolviéndolos frecuentemente.
Añada los tomates machucados, los frijoles pintos, el pollo, el caldo de pollo, el agua, el azúcar moreno oscuro, y la sal kosher a la mezcla de cebolla, revolviéndolos para combinar. También añada la pimienta recién molida, al gusto. Aumente el fuego a alto y deje que se hierve. Cuando la sopa esté hirviendo, reduzca el fuego a medio-bajo y deje que la sopa se hierve ligeramente por 10-15 minutos, hasta que los calabacines estén tiernos.
Sirva la sopa inmediatamente, aderezándola con el cilantro, y también con crema agria, totopos, y aguacate.