The Art of Making Soup: A Conversation with Ebbers and Friends

As we sat down to discuss our favorite soups, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. Ebbers, one half of the duo behind Sorted, a popular cooking show, was eager to share his expertise and passion for soup-making. Alongside him were some friends, who joined in on the conversation, each with their own unique perspective and favorite soups.

We began by talking about the importance of using high-quality ingredients. "Once the stock has simmered," Ebbers explained, "we're gonna strain it off through a sieve, get rid of all the shells and the heads, and what's left goes back into a clean pan." This process is crucial in creating a rich and flavorful base for our soups. The friends chimed in with their favorite aromatics to add to the stock, including lemongrass, ginger, and chili. "What you shouldn't do is slice your chilli really finely," warned one of the guests. "You want to be able to see the chilli in there, not get it in your mouth."

As we continued our conversation, Ebbers began chopping up his aromatics and adding them to the stock. The mixture simmered for about 5 minutes, infusing the liquid with a medley of flavors. Next, he added oyster mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and butterfly prawns to create a hearty and satisfying soup. "Although we've layered up lots of flavors in that stock," Ebbers explained, "this is where the seasoning comes in." He added a spice paste, palm sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice to balance out the flavors and add depth to the soup.

One of the guests couldn't resist asking for seconds, and as they took their first spoonful, they exclaimed, "Wow, this is amazing!" The group was unanimous in their praise for the soup, which seemed to transport them to a culinary paradise. As we savored our meal, Ebbers mentioned that he loves adding raw carrots and radish to his soups, which add a nice crunch and freshness to the dish.

The conversation turned to the topic of favorite soups, and each guest shared their own unique experience with a particular soup. One friend raved about an instant, 10-minute prawn bisque, while another confessed to being a huge fan of a tofu-based soup that takes a bit longer to prepare. Ebbers, however, had a clear favorite – his own signature soup that he claims is the best thing since sliced bread.

"I've gotta go with that one," he said, his eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. "I think that's fantastic for what it is, that's got a load of flavor, packs a punch, but that's just something else." The group was impressed by Ebbers' passion and expertise, and they all agreed that his soup was indeed something special.

As we wrapped up our conversation, the friends asked the question on everyone's mind: which soup would be their favorite if they had to choose? Would it be the instant prawn bisque, the tofu-based soup, or perhaps Ebbers' signature creation? The comments section was left open for readers to share their thoughts and preferences. As we parted ways, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to spend time with these passionate cooks and learn from them.

For those who want to join in on the fun, Sorted is a project run by a group of friends, and there are plenty of ways to support them and get more involved. From watching their cooking show to sharing your own favorite soups, everyone is welcome to be part of this culinary community. As we said our goodbyes, I couldn't help but wonder what other delicious soups the future held for Ebbers and his friends.

At 4 PM next Wednesday or Sunday, you can catch another episode of Sorted and join in on the conversation. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting out, there's something for everyone at Sorted. With its focus on community, passion, and delicious food, this show is sure to inspire and delight. So mark your calendars, grab a spoon, and get ready to dive into the world of soup-making with Ebbers and friends!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey, welcome to Sorted.We're a bunch of mates in Londonlooking for exceptionalthings in the food worldthat will help make our and your livesthat little bit better.Between stitching each otherup and all the innuendoes.Now be warned, we have two chefsbut we give them limited airtimeand we make sure all of our ideasstart with a suggestion from you.- Hello, welcome to fridgecam,I'm Ben and this is Mike.- And I'm not feeling very welland I need some soup but Ineed three different typesof soups at differentdifficulties, types and times.- In front of us are threedifferent hot and sour soups.Now they all have similar flavor profilesbut each one takes a little bitlonger to make than the last.- The question is, canwe tell the differencewhen we compare them at the end.First though, we're gonna showyou how to make each of them.- This is an instant soup in 10 minutes.- I know what you're thinking.- Yeah its gonna take10 minutes to prep it,but its gonna be instant when you cook it.- For your lunch.Here's what were using.Some kaffir lime leaves, somevery tiny bird's eye chillies,lemongrass, chicken stockcube and dried mushrooms.- Garlic powder, gingerpowder and some brown sugar.That's the end innit?- And to make it allhappen, we're using this.- A big bottom but he's little in the top.We're gonna start with our instant powderand that's about getting all this stuffinto this and blendingit up into a powder.Get your nose in there.So we're using the spice grinder,so you get really, really fine.And we'll come back to that later on.- That smells like flavor.Whilst we've got the machine outwe can prep our freshingredients for our soup.We're gonna thinly slice some mushroomsand some spring onionand we're gonna gratesome carrot and some daikon radish.And all we need to do isswap out our slicing toolfor our coarse grating tool.And that is everythingprepped for our soupand now all we need to do is construct itin our bowl or in our flask.We're then gonna sticka little bit of coconut milk in thereand bring that together and thenadd in our precooked prawns.- And then all you need to dois pour over some boiling water, job done.A package of flavor that you could neverimagine getting instantlyfrom anything else.Give it a stir up, if you're feeling fancy- I dropped it.(oohing)- Speedy.- But this, is ourvegan tofu coconut soup.- I know what you're thinking,we're going vegan but can wemake it creamy and satisfying?Yes, we can.- And here's what we're gonna use.- A chilli and lemongrass paste.- We're gonna make a brothusing vegetable stockand coconut milk flavoured withcoriander and lime leaves.- And we're gonna finishit all off with tomatoes,mushrooms, red onion andmy personal favourite, tofu.- There's no need to besarcastic about tofu.- I'm not being sarcasticI'm working out how to sell it- Tofu can be delicious- back at the table, it'll be great.And the whole thing'sgonna be brought togetherwith this turbo unit.To start our paste I'mgonna peel and roughly chopsome shallots, lemongrassand chuck it into our chopperwith chillies and galangal.- Nice.- Thanks.Coconut oil.- Yep.- Goes in the pan.- Spoon paste into coconut?- Oui, chef.Fry the paste in the coconutoil until its fragrantand then add the palm sugar.- And don't worry ifyou don't have galangal,just use ginger and ifyou don't have palm sugarjust use brown sugar.Its almost the same.Not quite as good, but almost as good.- That's true, that's all true.- Now its time to take ourpaste and turn it into a brothwith our vegetable stock,our coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves.Don't worry that you've gotbig bits of kaffir lime leaf'cos once its simmered away for 10 minuteswe're gonna blitz it up in the pan.- And it's gonna go nice and brightand green and delicious and creamy- Ah yeah.- Shall we cut some veg up, and some tofu.- Yes.- You can half themushrooms but if you getlittle button mushroomslike this, there's no need.Stick 'em straight in.- Good tip.- Thanks man.How about you cut some tofu?- I can cut some tofu.- Go for it.Once that soup has simmered for 10 minuteswe're gonna add in the freshcoriander, then blitz it.Do you want to do the honors?- You mean chuck everything in,leave it to simmer for five minutesand then finish by seasoning itwith a little bit of lime and soy sauce?- That's what I mean by honors, yes.- Then yes, yes I do.Oh oh!- Nice!- However, this one is theultimate one, made from scratch.- Ooh.- More grabby, more grabby that one.- Not allowed back here now.- We have had two delicious soupsbut this is the chef's time to go all out.- So we're gonna make our own stockwith some shell on prawns,our own chili paste with similar flavorsto the other guys but added dried shrimp,shrimp paste and fish sauce for umami.- And to finish off we'regonna add some freshwhole flavorings with somemushrooms and cherry tomatoes.- Plus, to get the best pastepossible, we're using this.- Do you have a theme tune?- No, I feel like we shouldbolster it up, have you got one?- I don't have a theme tune.- These are awesome, all we need to dois take the heads and shells offand stick them in a panwith some peanut oil.And you'll notice they will changefrom grey to a wonderful pink.Why you doing that James?- I don't wanna eat the poo.- Take out the little blackline down the back of the prawn.Intestinal tract, what he said.- Also it looks really prettywhen they're butterfliedand they kinda of like,they curl up, yeah.- They curl more.With the prawn heads and shells fried offI'm adding in about a liter and a halfof cold water, heating to a simmerand letting it bubbleaway for about 45 minutes.- We are going a little bitmore traditional with this soupbut already we're kind ofgoing of piste a little bitbecause usually you wouldjust boil the prawnsbut its so delicious when youfry them off in peanut oil.We are going to make a spice pastewhich is gonna just addloads of depth of flavor,a little bit of heat and lots of umami.- Shallot, garlic, driedchilies, tamarind, palm sugar,dried shrimps, shrimppaste, oil and fish sauce.A lot of ingredients, theybalance themselves out,they're delicious and you can getthem in the link down below.Kapow, that is more thanyou need but it freezesreally nicely in icecube trays for next time.Once the stock has simmeredwe're gonna strain it offthrough a sieve, get rid of all the shellsand the heads and what is leftgoes back into a clean pan.- And I'm gonnachop up some aromats,put them straight into the stock.- Fancy word forlemongrass, ginger and chilli.- What you shouldn't do isslice your chilli really finely'cos you don't want, youwanna be able to see the chilliin there, not get it in your mouth.- Once the aromats have infused the stockfor about 5 minutes we'regonna add in oyster mushrooms,bring it up to a simmer then addcherry tomatoes andour butterflied prawns.Bring it up to a simmer andremove it from the heat.Although we've layered uplots of flavors in that stockfrom the aromats, from the mushrooms,from the cherry tomatoes, the prawn stockthis is where the seasoning comes in.- After the spice pastewe're gonna add palm sugar,fish sauce and lime juiceto balance it all out.- Ah!- Right, let's eat some soup.- We are loaded with spoons.- Get it.- Get a prawn.- Cheers.- Oh.- Cheers.- Cheers.- You instantly get, from what is quite- Flavour, yep.- An instant soup, thefragrance of kaffir limeand lemongrass, that is amazing.- And a little bit of heat.- Yeah.- And just enough seasoning, rightthere's nothing else but chicken stockand dried mushrooms in that,is there, and it's perfect.- What I like about that is thatthe carrot and the radish went in raw.So although it's softened slightlyyou still get really nice crunch from it.But, coming to this.- I'm gonna.- I'm gonna put it out there already,this is the best looking.- We're not comparing yet.- I don't care.- Cheers.- Cheers.- Well cut weren't they.- It's hotter.- Whoa, yeah it is.- But I feel like it can take itbecause of the creaminessof the coconut milkand those red onions, muchthe same as the gratednessgoing on here, just cookedbut still with crunchand the sweetness ofred onion comes through.- The great thing about tofu is,although it doesn't havemuch flavor by itselfas soon as you add flavor to it,it soaks it all up like a sponge.Boys, you've got a lot to live up to.- Well, in that case, have a dip.- I almost don't wanna share this one.- Oh, I want a cherry tomato.- If you get a bird'seye chili, don't eat it.- Cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers.- That has got elements of those twobut with like prawnbisque going on as well.The prawn stock.- I think you make the prawn stockand then you just bringit to life at the end.- Yep.- I can't get enough of those tomatoes,that little sweet pop,with the spice, yes.- The flavor in your chef-yone, washes over you.It doesn't like punch you in the face,like the second one does but it washesover you and it's beautiful.Picking a favorite here is really tricky.I love the convenience ofthe instant, 10 minute onebut I might have to laymy cards on the tableand say that my favorite soupon the table has tofu in it.- Whoa.- Convert.For me, yes the stock takes a bit longerbut the umami from the shrimp pasteand the fish sauce makesthat stand out for me.- I'm with Ebbers, I love the tofu onebut that's an experience.- I'm a little bit biased 'costhat is actually my favouritesoup in the whole world andI've gotta go with that one.I can't do anything else,I think that's fantasticfor what it is, that's got aload of flavour, packs a punchbut that is just likesomething else, worth the time.- Three different soups, we're still goingback to try more of each but tell usin the comments down belowwhich would be your favourite,which would you most like to try?- Did you like that?We liked it, if you liked it, like it.- It was so good he's nearly better.(Mike clears his throat)We'll see you next Wednesday, next Sundayat 4PM- At 4PM.- As we mentioned,Sorted is just runby a group of friends so if you likewhat we're doing thenthey're loads of waysthat you can support usand get more involved.Everything you need toknow is linked below.\n"