AI-generated image
Sopa de fideo
Toasted noodle soup
Toasted noodle soup in a light tomato and vegetable broth
Sopa de fideo is the soup almost every Mexican grew up on, served at home from Monterrey to Mérida as the first course of the midday meal. Thin fideo noodles (short broken vermicelli) are fried in oil until golden before the tomato broth goes in, which gives them a toasty, nutty flavour and stops them turning to mush. This version uses a vegetable stock, so it is vegan and very kind to small children. Serve it with lime, a little dried chilli for the grown-ups and bread or tortillas. Chef's tip: fry the noodles over a medium heat and keep stirring; they go from pale to golden to burnt in seconds, and you want the colour of a digestive biscuit.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 14 oz ripe tomatoesabout 3, quartered
- ¼ white onionroughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 7 oz fideo pastaor angel hair broken into 3 cm pieces
- 1 carrotsmall, finely diced
- 3 sprigs fresh coriander
- 1 tsp saltto taste
- 1 lime (optional)in wedges
- ½ tsp chipotle chilli flakes (optional)for the adults
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (6)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Quarter 14 oz ripe tomatoes and put them in a blender with ¼ white onion, 1 clove garlic and 250 ml of the 1 cup vegetable stock. Blend for a full minute until very smooth.
2 minStep 2: Pour the purée through a sieve into a jug, pressing with a spoon. Removing the skins and seeds gives the silky broth children like.
2 minStep 3: Put the rest of 4 cups vegetable stock in a pan to warm over a low heat. Adding hot stock later keeps the soup at a simmer so the noodles cook evenly.
3 minStep 4: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pot over a medium heat. Add 7 oz fideo pasta and stir so every strand is coated in oil.
1 minStep 5: Fry the noodles, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes, until they turn an even deep gold, like a digestive biscuit, and smell nutty and toasty. Toasting gives fideo its flavour and helps it keep its shape in the broth. If some strands race ahead and darken, pull the pot off the heat for a moment; black bits taste bitter and you would have to start again.
4 minStep 6: Pour the tomato purée over the noodles. It will hiss and spit hard, so stand back. Stir for 2 minutes, until the purée darkens to brick red and clings to the noodles; this fries out its raw edge.
2 minStep 7: Pour in the hot stock, then add 1 carrot, 3 sprigs fresh coriander and 1 tsp salt. Stir, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom, and bring to the boil.
2 minStep 8: Turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring once or twice so the noodles don't clump, until they are soft and the carrot is tender. The soup should stay brothy: if the noodles drink too much, add a splash of hot water.
9 minStep 9: Fish out the coriander sprigs, taste and adjust the salt. A small squeeze of lime brightens the tomato.
1 minStep 10: Serve hot, with 1 lime and ½ tsp chipotle chilli flakes on the side for the adults. It keeps 3 days in the fridge but thickens overnight into a soft noodle stew; loosen it with stock or water as you reheat. Don't freeze it, as the noodles turn mushy.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 270 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de fideo take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Black bean tacos with lime slaw
Proof that a meat-free taco night can be the best one. The beans are mashed with chipotle and cumin so they hold together in the tortilla, and a quick lime slaw adds crunch.
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian