Tortilla Soup
I started the morning by whacking my hand down several times on Amelia’s plastic squeaking turtle (“Georgina”) thinking in my confused sleep state that it was the turtle who was beeping at us to wake up and not my alarm clock sitting right beside it. That made me laugh until I remembered that it’s only yucky old TUESDAY. Luckily Friday is a public holiday and then so is next Monday so Tuesday this week isn’t so bad.
On Saturday night Big-P and I watched a movie called Tortilla Soup. We have pretty much exhausted the dvds in the video library so we are now down to those few remaining movies that nobody’s ever heard of. Tortilla Soup had an original screen play written by Ang Lee and for that reason some of the story wasn’t too bad. I like stories about old crusty chefs who have a grumpy manner but love their three beautiful daughters very much, and they all live at home despite being well and truly grown up, and he cooks them amazing meals and gets extra prickly when they bring boyfriends to the table. It’s a great genre (not that I can really think of any other movies that fit into this rather specific genre). I am now thinking that tortilla soup might be something that I will have to try cooking. In the movie it looked like thick Campbell’s tomato soup which I have always had a soft spot for. This recipe over at all recipes sounds pretty good and relatively easy so when I work out what hominy is I will give it a go.
It’s raining here in Melbourne which is so incredibly good. I am about to take Amelia to the baby chiropractor and I am going to wear my scarf!
Responses
15th April 2003 at 12:41 pm
How interesting! ‘Tortilla Soup’ sounds like the Mexican version of ‘Eat Drink Man Woman’, which was directed by Ang Lee. All foodie movies are great!! 
15th April 2003 at 12:57 pm
please do tell us how the baby chiroprator goes this time.. i’d never heard of this type of treatment before reading about it on your site.
also, just wanted to say how happy i am that your website now pings weblogs.com when you update.. it’s so very refreshing to know when there’s a new loobylu to read.
15th April 2003 at 1:12 pm
I felt very ashamed since I come from the American south and have not ever had hominy, so I looked it up at epicurious…
“…hominy is dried white or yellow corn kernels from which the hull and germ have been removed. This process is done either mechanically or chemically by soaking the corn in slaked lime or lye. Hominy is sold canned, ready-to-eat or dried (which must be reconstituted before using). It’s commonly served as a side dish or as part of a casserole. … When ground, it’s called hominy grits — or simply grits — and usually comes in three grinds — fine, medium and coarse….”
(now, I have eaten grits all my life so I guess I HAVE had hominy.)
15th April 2003 at 1:13 pm
Hi,
Love your website, and am an avid reader.
AAnnnnyways…hominy looks like a bigger version of corn kernels and they are white. I’ve used it in Mexican recipes and it usually comes in cans. Hope this helps.
Lots of luv to ya!
15th April 2003 at 1:28 pm
Tortilla Soup is a westernised version of the original “Eat Drink Man Woman”, which was in Chinese.
The Chinese food shown in the film is reason enough to watch it.
15th April 2003 at 3:01 pm
Oh I have some great recipes as traditional Mexican food is my specialty — or at least my food obsession! I’ve got recipe books galore.
I have a really delicious recipe for “Aztec Soup” that I learnt how to make from a woman in Oaxaca Mexico. It is a type of tortilla soup with a spicy tomato broth base and yummy, fried tortilla bits added on top (no hominy) or a personal winter favourite “vegetarian pozole” which uses hominy. You can also add chicken to this soup. It features a spicy tomato broth with hominy and lots of roasted and charred veggies added at the end. Really tasty and it really opens up those nasal passages. Ha!
If you’re interested I’ll send them along.
15th April 2003 at 4:18 pm
Hello fellow Melbournite! *L* I’d never heard of baby chiro before, and I’ve been getting regular chiro-crackings for the past ten years or so… Let us know how it all goes.
Can I suggest a DVD or ten? Best In Show. See it if you know dog people…
15th April 2003 at 9:15 pm
living in texas, i eat a lot of tortilla soup because i can get it almost everywhere. i’ve seen two kinds of tortilla soup, one has a chicken broth base and the other a tomato base. both are equally delicious, but i only really know how to make the chicken base one. i have never ever seen hominy in tortilla soup, only in pozole and menudo. (which by the way are awesome too.) anyway. sautee 2-3 garlic cloves and 1 diced onion in some olive oil. you can fill the pot with water at this point but i usually use a half and half mixture of water and canned chicken broth. toss the chicken in (maybe 2-3 boneless breast halves, you can chop them into bite-sized pieces or just shred them when they’re cooked), 1 diced tomato (canned diced tomatoes are be fine), 1 cup corn kernels (if you like corn), green chile peppers (maybe a couple ounces) garlic, oregano, and salt. the amount of spices you put in are really up to you. simmer that til the chicken is done, (optional: chop up a couple of white corn tortillas and throw those in for a few minutes). when everything’s all cooked up nice, slice some avocados, serve the soup in a bowl and garnish with LOTS of cheese (a standard “mexican” mix is good, but jack is best), tortilla chips, and avocado. there’s really no wrong way to make it, except for putting hominy in it. if you want hominy, look up a recipe for menudo.
15th April 2003 at 10:30 pm
I usually substitute potatoes for chicken and use a vegetable broth. And cumin is another good spice to add along with the chili powder. I’ve also eaten it with zucchini and carrots (the carrots are first fried with the onions, chili powder and cumin). The person who taught me how to make it always added fresh seasonal veggies–this was back in Texas but she was originally from England.
Ooh, and if you can find them, try blue corn chips. Mmm…
16th April 2003 at 12:04 am
Hate to admit it (since I’m a trained chef) but I absolutely ADORE the Tortilla Soup mix made by either Bear Creek or Williams Country Store. I do not know how available that would be in Melbourne, but I know that Wal-Mart Superstores carry it here. The soup though is a rich, creamy tomato stew, very spicy and delish! I used fried flour tortillas in mine instead of corn and, by the time the soup was finished they had plumped into little dumpling-like tidbits.
16th April 2003 at 2:12 am
I loved Tortilla Soup, the movie that is! And yes, I love tortilla soup too!
16th April 2003 at 3:20 am
There actually are quite a few “food movies” out there including Soul Food, Babette’s Feast, Like Water for Chocolate, Woman on Top, and of course, Chocolat.
PS: I’ve had corn in some of the tortilla soups that I’ve eaten but never any hominy. Curious.
16th April 2003 at 4:06 am
I’ll have to tell you, I DESPISE hominy. Yuck. I’d substitute more corn if you don’t like it. Blech.
17th April 2003 at 9:47 am
“Tortilla Soup” is based on “Eat Drink Man Woman”—Samuel Goldwyn bought the rights to shortly after EDMW was made… I really recommend seeing EDMW–more character development and delicious food. They are both really fun movies…
17th April 2003 at 12:30 pm
i haven’t seen Tortilla Soup but the Taiwanese film was wonderful. Also, Like Water for Chocolate completely rocked my world.
1st May 2003 at 11:39 am
I’ve been wanting to see Like Water for Chocolate for a while now. It has Lumi Cavazos, who is muchly cool.
15th April 2003 at 12:38 pm
A friend of mine once made a wonderful tortilla soup for me – when done well, it certainly is a wonderful experience.