PBR Streetgang German-Vietnamese Fusion Stew

Submitted by: Carie

Prep Time: 40 mins   Serves: 4   PerPerson: $1.60

Dietary: adventurous eater

Description: Okay, so this actually is weird. We wanted Phở, but the stores closed down before we could get all the ingredients we needed. So we made do by making shit up. And it turned out awesome.

Part I: Shrimp $1.99  1/2 lb shrimp, deveined $0.20  2 Tbsp olive oil $0.10  1 Tbsp honey $0.10  1 tsp hot sauce (e.g. Sriracha)   Directions: Stir fry shrimp in oil, honey, and hot sauce. This can also be eaten plain with rice or noodles for a super-fast, super-tasty, cheap meal.

Part II: Tofu $1.00  1 package chopped tofu       Directions: Brown tofu in a skillet until golden brown on all sides

Part III: Soup $0.20  2 stalks celery $0.20  2 carrots $0.20  1/2 purple cabbage $0.10  1 serrano chili $0.25  5 cloves garlic, chopped $0.10  1 onion, chopped $0.10  1 stick cinnamon $0.20  2 Tbsp cooking oil $0.20  2 Tbsp soy sauce $0.20  1 cube vegetable bullion $0.00  8 cups water $0.20  1 lime $0.20  1/4 c. cilantro

Directions: Roast the garlic, onions, carrots, and chili in the oil until onions are translucent, add the celery, cabbage, bullion cube, and cinnamon stick and stir for 2 minutes (breaking up the cube) until cabbage is slightly softened. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil, then simmer soup on low. Chop the cilantro and quarter the limes for a garnish.

Part IV: Spätzle $0.10  1 c. flour $0.26  2 eggs $0.10  1/4 c. milk (we used rice milk) $0.05  2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro $0.02  1 tsp salt $0.02  1/2 tsp pepper

Directions: Gently beat eggs with milk, pour into flour and mix. Add flour or milk until the consistency is that of a thin dough (should drip in clumps from a spoon). Stir in cilantro, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil and press dough through a slotted spoon or colander (or a Spätzle press if you are lucky enough to have one) into the boiling soup. Alternately just make dumplings by dropping the dough into the soup by the teaspoonful. Dough will float to the top of the soup when it is finished cooking. In making normal Spätzle, the dough is dropped in plain salted water. Once the dough floats to the top, it is scooped out, strained, and fried in butter. But this way makes a superfast addition of noodles to a soup when you realize that you want soup with noodles but don't have noodles. Which is why we did it.


Part V: Garnish

$0.20  1 lime

$0.20  1/4 c. cilantro

$0.20  1/2 c. pea pods

$0.10  2 sprigs Thai basil

Final Directions
At this point, the soup is done. Now all you have to do is mix and match the parts you want (tofu? shrimp? plain?), garnish (with the stuff above, or add bean sprouts, chili peppers, or whatever else), and eat up! We served this with a side of baby bok choy and broccoli, stir fried with garlic and soy sauce ($0.55 for two people).


Total: $6.39


Notes: The units in this recipe can be mixed and matched with other things for endless delicious possibilities. Make spicy shrimp with noodles, tofu salad, beef Phở, Spätzle with goulash... oh god, so hungry.