Little Donkey, Birmingham, Ala.
It has been said that too many cooks spoil the broth, but chef Josh Gentry said that this popular soup, sort of a Mexican-influenced pho, was the result of his kitchen’s collaborative environment.
“We challenge each other and really tear things apart,” he said, noting that different cooks added different ingredients to the soup until they came up with this completed item.
The soup starts with a rich pork stock, to which morita and red chipotle peppers are added, along with garlic, vermicelli noodles, seared zucchini and whatever other squash is in season.
Gentry puts mushrooms in a smoker for about an hour and then slices them and adds them to the soup, which is garnished with sesame seeds, lime, cilantro and a loosely poached egg. The egg has been cooked in sous-vide at 64 degrees Centigrade so that the egg white is solid and the yolk is runny.
“The yolk folds into the stock and makes the whole dish a little richer,” Gentry said about the dish, which sells for $6.99.
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Contact Bret Thorn at bret.thorn@penton.com.
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