Soup Challenge 5: Daniel Romero (Tortoise, Stone Brewing) / Dante Romero (Tortoise, The Florence) - The Asian Bistro
Soups with Chefs #5 presented a challenge to me. One...I couldn't invite just ONE of this dynamic sibling duo. Two...I had tasted Tom Kah soup before and, well, was not impressed by my experience. When the boys told me they were taking me to The Asian Bistro for Tom Kah I was ready to have my mind changed, but wary of what was to come.
Before we dive into the soup-sperience (I said what I said), we talked about their family a bit. The brothers (Dante and Daniel) are four years apart and grew up in Mexicali. Their favorite soup memory growing up is the "sopa de papa" their mother made for them. Made with chicken broth, potatoes, celery, carrots, onions and oaxacan cheese. It was comforting to both and frankly it sounds delicious!
The first thing I wondered was why The Asian Bistro. They both said that after they prep, cook and serve their bi-weekly private dining event (Tortoise), they were usually starving but out late. They had been recommended this spot by their peers so tried it out and have been loyal customers for the past 5 years. Restaurants that stay open late is clutch for industry folks am I right?! We ordered the Tom Kah and Daniel made it a point to ask that it be served "extremely hot". They chose shrimp as the protein and it was subsequently served quickly in a traditional Thai fire pot, boiling hot. Garnished minimally with cilantro, scallions and chili oil, we indulged.
The smell of the hot coconut galangal broth and lemongrass was enveloping. I had to let the hot lava soup sit for a few minutes but damn, when I finally tried it I was pleasantly surprised. The balance of lime citrus and coconut was perfect. Light and creamy broth wasn't too heavy but still had rich flavor. They went hard and added a bunch of thai chili oil to spice theirs up (I'm seeing a pattern here with these chefs) and I added about half of a drop to mine. The texture of the little white beech mushrooms, son of a beeches according to them, was mildly dense and chewy, giving the soup a touch of earthy flavor. The shrimps texture was similar so this was a very easy soup to enjoy. After a long day of cooking, taking photos or even raging at your favorite dive-craft-mixology-spirit forward-refreshing bar-club-lounge, this soup will be and still IS on my mind. Thank you boys, you've made a believer out of me.
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