3.342 German Bauernsuppe

Cycle 3 – Item 342

12 (Wed) December 2012

Bauernsuppe

2.5

by me

at home

-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

solo

Project 30/30/30: 42 of 45 (see also 45/45/45)

Throughout the past November, I challenged myself to eat 30 dishes from 30 countries over the course of 30 consecutive days – and succeeded.  I will continue the project until I run out of dishes or countries or restaurants or steam or money, aiming for 50.

Germany is the 42nd country.

An impromptu addition intended to up the Germanic quotient, I served the soup with this Made-in-Germany red saurkraut, which I discovered by chance at E-Mart in the import aisle across from the beers.

Bauernsuppe is a German soup. The name of the dish means “farmer’s (bauern) soup (suppe).”

From a recipe in the cookbook 1 Stock, 100 Soups, one of those anonymously written texts featuring simplified versions of dishes.  The recipe is offered as the entry to represent Germany in a section for “World Soups.”   It’s so generic, however – just beef and potatoes boiled in vegetable stock, seasoned with thyme, garnished with parsley and cheese – that the soup could be attributed to any European culinary tradition.  But for purposes of this project, close enough.

A wide variety of German beers is available in Korea, even some obscure labels, like this Henninger – a pale lager, not that great – which I’d never heard of prior to seeing it on the shelf while searching for an appropriate drink to accompany this very meal.

Authenticity aside, the meal overall turned out quite well.  The soup was rich and hearty; after 2 hours of slow simmering, the beef had become amazingly tender.  The side dish of red saurkraut was a nice touch, although I have no idea whether Germans would eat the stuff in such a way.  The rustic bread actually made the experience feel a bit pastoral.  Come to think of it, an unfiltered hefeweizen would’ve enhanced that feeling even more.  A farmer’s meal, indeed.

(See also BOOZE)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

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