Today’s post is a twofer. That’s right, two recipes in one post. While you can certainly make one independent of the other, they do play very well together. I am of course talking about the radiant burnt orange soup you see in the photo above. Today’s Carrot Kimchi Soup is a velvety vegetable soup heavy on carrots and loaded with a tub of kimchi. The flavor is rounded out by a dollop of gochujang, soy sauce, and a whole lot of garlic. The texture is enhanced by the addition of starchy root vegetables. In this particular incarnation, I used a mix of sweet potatoes and regular potatoes because that is what my crisper had for me. But I’ve made this soup with squash and rutabaga before with no adverse effects – just a slightly nuttier flavor profile.
To make this soup a meal, I whipped up a round of Black Sesame Buttermilk Biscuits. These are a riff on my usual biscuits. The same biscuits I made umpteenth batches of when I used to bake for a local cafe. This time I swapped some of the basic butter for a sesame compound butter made with black sesame seeds, sesame paste (more on that later), and a pinch of salt. The result is the usual buttermilk biscuit experience but with the bonus of nutty warm undertones. This is a decidedly savory biscuit but it is still very capable of shaking hands with a strawberry jam, honey, or my father’s personal favorite, a drizzle of molasses.
The first thing we’re going to start with is that compound butter I mentioned. To make compound butter, we start with softened butter and beat flavour-enhancing ingredients into it. Now, obviously, for biscuits, we want the opposite of soft butter. So we have to account for the time it takes for the butter to resolidify in the fridge after being flavored. That’s why we’re starting here.
Place your softened butter in a bowl and add sesame seeds and sesame paste. This is Chinese sesame paste, which is different than tahini. The Chinese paste has, in my opinion, a toastier, darker flavor. You can of course use tahini if that is all you can find but I would urge you to seek out the Chinese version. It is available at most Asian grocery stores. I got mine at T&T here in Toronto. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the paste and seeds into the butter until smooth. Roll the mixture up into a parchment paper tube and seal off the ends as you would a piece of candy. Transfer the butter to the fridge and let chill for at least an hour. Two hours is better.
While the butter is quite literally chilling, we can set to work making the Carrot Kimchi Soup. And that starts with a whole lot of chopping. While I understand chopping is not exactly everyone’s idea of a good time, there is something meditative about the activity. Its monotony can be engrossing. Especially when you’re hyper-focused on improving your abysmal knife skills. I am, as ever, a work in progress. But this soup doesn’t mind if your cuts lack confidence. All of the veg will be puréed to high heaven, so what does it matter? You can practice, make mistakes, and be completely let off the hook in the end. What other dishes can claim that?
Once all the veg is ready, it’s time to invite heat to the party. Heat neutral oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Once the oil is shimmering, reduce the heat to low and add the onions along with a generous pinch of salt. Stir in your celery and continue to cook gently until the celery is softened. Add in the carrots, gochujang, and honey. Stir until the veg is glossy and coated. Add in your potatoes, an entire tub of kimchi, and your stock. Bring everything up to a boil and add your bay leaves and soy sauce. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Let cook for an hour and a half. That will give the flavors time to develop and reduce our veg to mush. We want this in order to achieve the velvety smooth puree of our dreams.
When the soup is nearing the finish line, start preheating the oven. Whisk to combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add your cold compound butter, and cut into cubes. Next, add some unadulterated butter to the mix. It should be equally as cold. Using your thumb and index fingers, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Whisk the buttermilk and an egg together. Form a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Work the dry ingredients into the wet until a shaggy dough forms. Knead it briefly just to bring it together.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out and fold it into thirds, like a letter. Give the dough a quarter turn and roll it out once again. Repeat this two more times and then roll the dough out to 1/4″ thickness. Trim the edges of the dough and cut the remaining dough into squares. Transfer them to a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Gather up the scraps and repeat until you have 12-14 biscuits. Brush the biscuits with an egg wash and sprinkle them with black sesame seeds. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and flakey.
And that’s everything you need to know about this Carrot Kimchi Soup with Black Sesame Biscuits. Making soup is good for your nervous system. I firmly believe that. That reassuring bubble of getting things done without doing much of anything. This Carrot Kimchi Soup is perfect in uncertain times like these. Regardless of what thoughts are racing around in your head, there will be soup at the end of this. And it will be warming, delicious, and umami rich. And yes there will be biscuits. Buttery and warm and ready to be dunked. While that is not a lot of certainty to hang your hat on, it is at the very least temporarily reassuring.
Enjoy!
Carrot Kimchi Soup with Black Sesame Biscuits
Equipment
- 1 hand or stand mixer
- 1 large heavy bottom pot
- 1 Large baking sheet
- 1 silicone mat or parchment paper
Ingredients
Black Sesame Compound Butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (zhi ma jiang) ** see notes
- 1 tbsp black sesame seeds
- ½ tsp sea salt
Carrot Kimchi Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 5 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp gochujang
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 large Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
- 400g kimchi
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- sesame oil for drizzling
- Black sesame seeds for sprinkling
- celery leaves for sprinkling
Black Sesame Biscuits
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs divided
- 1 batch Black Sesame Compound Butter cold, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp water
- Black sesame seeds for sprinkling
Instructions
For the Compound Butter
- Place the softened butter into a large bowl. Add the sesame paste and sesame seeds. Using a hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy.½ cup unsalted butter, 1 tbsp Chinese sesame paste (zhi ma jiang) **, 1 tbsp black sesame seeds, ½ tsp sea salt
- Transfer the mixture to the center of a piece of parchment paper. Roll it into a log and twist the ends as you would wrap a piece of candy. Place the butter in the fridge and let chill for at least one hour. Two is better.
For the Carrot Kimchi Soup
- Pour the oil into a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté over low until the onion is just translucent.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 sweet onion
- Stir in the celery and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute more. Add in the carrots, gochujang, and honey. Stir until the vegetables are coated.3 stalks celery, 4 cloves garlic, 5 large carrots, 2 tbsp gochujang, 2 tbsp honey
- Add the potatoes and kimchi to the pot and pour in the vegetable stock. Bring the soup to a boil and add the soy sauce and a couple of bay leaves. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for an hour or until the vegetables are very soft.2 medium sweet potatoes, 2 large Yukon gold potatoes, 400g kimchi, 8 cups vegetable stock, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 bay leaves
- Carefully transfer the soup to a high-power blender. *** You will have to do this in batches. Return the soup to the pot, cover and set aside.
For the Biscuits
- To make the biscuits, preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat and set aside.
- Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. In a small bowl, whisk to combine the buttermilk and the egg. Set aside.2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 2½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda, ¾ cup buttermilk, 2 large eggs
- Cut the sesame butter into cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Add the remaining butter as well. Toss the butter until thoroughly coated in flour, then rub the butter pieces between your thumb and index finger until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.1 batch Black Sesame Compound Butter, ¼ cup unsalted butter
- Form a well in the center of the flour and butter mixture and pour the egg and buttermilk mixture into the center. Work the dry ingredients into the wet until a shaggy dough forms. Knead it briefly to get it to come together.
- Roll the dough out and fold it three times like a letter. Give the dough a quarter turn and roll it out again. Repeat these steps two more times.
- Roll out the dough to a 1/4” thickness. Trim the edges and cut the remaining dough into 2 x 2” squares. **** Arrange the squares on the prepared baking sheet roughly 2” apart. Gather up the scraps of dough and form them into a ball. Roll the dough out again and repeat.
- Beat the remaining egg and a tablespoon of water together in a small bowl. Brush the biscuits with the mixture and sprinkle them with additional black sesame seeds. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a cooling rack.1 tbsp water, Black sesame seeds
To Serve
- Bring the soup back up to heat and ladle into bowls. Drizzle the soup with sesame oil and sprinkle it with black sesame seeds and celery leaves. Serve with warm Black Sesame Biscuits on the side.sesame oil, Black sesame seeds, celery leaves
