Through the years I have become a fan of a more savory breakfast than cereal with milk. I loved breakfasting in Bavaria with nice cheeses, meats, and bread, fortified with strong Euro-style coffee. What I loved more were the bowls of noodles or curry I had for breakfast in Singapore.
I made a simple Spicy Pork Noodle Soup:
2-3 oz. thinly - thinly - sliced pork (a pork chop would work here, add bone to broth)
1 tbs Italian Hot Peppers - the kind you get for sandwiches, in vinegar
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp minced lemongrass
1/2 tsp fish sauce or 1 tsp shrimp paste
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 package ramen noodles, throw away the seasoning packet
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
fresh cilantro for garnish.
Reserving the cilantro and the lime juice, put all of the ingredients into a 2-qt covered saucepan. Bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes, take off heat, let stand for 3 minutes. Let it sit only until the noodles are just ready.
Transfer to soup bowl, add cilantro and lime juice.
This is a lot better if you can marinate the pork overnight, using all of the ingredients and reserving a bit of lime & cilantro to the end to spark it at the end. Okay to omit the lemongrass: it's a pantry item for me.
A tip to remember: a bit of acid to finish a dish really pops the flavor.
Your breakfast hot and sour soup.
