The best bowl in Chicago: Matzo ball soup

Serves 4 · 45 min · Easy

In Sapporo they stir-fry the pork, garlic and vegetables in a wok, then pour the broth into the same wok.

You need

• Miso paste: 1/3 cup (90 g) red miso, 2 tbsp white miso, 1 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp soy, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chile bean paste (doubanjiang), 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, 1 tsp sesame oil
• 8 oz (225 g) ground pork
• 2 cups (200 g) bean sprouts, 1 cup (150 g) shredded cabbage
• 1 1/2 quarts (1.4 l) chicken stock
• 4 portions curly ramen noodles
• Toppings: corn, butter, scallions, soft-boiled eggs, nori

How to make it

1. Mix the miso paste ingredients.
2. Heat the oils in a wok and stir-fry the pork 3 minutes until browned. Add the sprouts and cabbage for 1 minute.
3. Stir in the miso paste for 30 seconds, then the stock. Bring to a simmer (don't boil hard once the miso is in).
4. Cook the noodles, drain and divide between bowls. Pour over the broth and vegetables and top with corn, a knob of butter, scallions and egg.

Chef's tips

• For tan tan, add 2 tbsp chile oil and a little more sesame paste.

Contains: soy, sesame, wheat, egg, milk.

Our recipe, the same one we give for miso ramen in Boston. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 6 · 4 hr 30 min

A clear, fragrant beef broth simmered for hours with charred onion, ginger and warm spices, poured over rice noodles and paper-thin raw beef. Inspired by the beef noodle soup at Le Colonial in Houston.

You need

• 2 lb (900 g) beef oxtail, cut in sections
• 2 lb (900 g) beef marrow or knuckle bones
• 2 medium yellow onions (about 1 lb), halved and left unpeeled
• 4-inch piece fresh ginger (about 3 oz), halved lengthwise
• 3 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 5 quarts (4.7 liters) cold water, plus more for parboiling
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 lb (450 g) dried flat rice noodles (banh pho)
• 8 oz (225 g) beef tenderloin, trimmed and sliced paper thin
• 1 small white onion, very thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 3 limes, cut into wedges
• Hoisin sauce and sriracha for the table (3 tablespoons each)

How to make it

1. Put the oxtail and bones in the stockpot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil hard for 10 minutes while gray scum rises, then drain and rinse every piece under cold water. Scrub out the pot.
2. Heat the broiler with a rack 4 inches from the element. Broil the onion halves and ginger on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, turning once, until blackened in spots and soft. Cool, peel off the loose skin, and rinse.
3. Toast the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and fennel in the dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Tie them into cheesecloth.
4. Return the bones to the clean pot with the 5 quarts cold water, charred onion, ginger and the spice bundle. Bring to a boil over high heat, about 20 minutes, skimming off foam.
5. Reduce the heat to low so the surface barely trembles. Simmer partly covered for 3 hours, skimming now and then, and lift out the spice bundle after the first hour so it does not turn bitter.
6. Lift the oxtail onto a plate. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones in large pieces and set aside, returning the bones to the pot.
7. Strain the broth through the fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, pressing lightly. Skim fat from the top with a ladle, then stir in the fish sauce, salt and sugar and taste, adding fish sauce until savory with a slight sweetness. Keep at a bare simmer.
8. About 40 minutes before serving, wrap the beef tenderloin and freeze it for 20 minutes to firm it up. Soak the dried noodles in warm tap water for 30 minutes, until pliable and white.
9. Slice the chilled beef against the grain as thin as paper. Arrange the sliced onion, scallions, sprouts, basil, cilantro, jalapeno and lime wedges on a platter.
10. Boil a large pot of water and cook the soaked noodles for 1 to 2 minutes, until tender but still springy. Drain and divide among 6 large bowls, then lay the shredded oxtail and raw beef slices on top.
11. Bring the broth to a rolling boil, then ladle at least 1 1/2 cups over each bowl; the heat cooks the raw beef to a blush pink within a minute. Serve with the garnish platter, hoisin and sriracha.

Pans and tools

• 12-quart stockpot
• rimmed baking sheet
• dry skillet
• fine-mesh strainer
• cheesecloth or tea ball for spices
• large pot for noodles
• sharp slicing knife
• instant-read thermometer

Chef's tips

• Common mistake: boiling the broth hard, which turns it cloudy. Keep it at a bare simmer and skim.
• Make-ahead: the broth keeps 5 days refrigerated or 3 months frozen. The fat that hardens on top is easy to lift off.
• Reheat the broth to a full boil before serving or the raw beef will not cook.
• Swap: use beef shank or short rib for part of the oxtail, and gluten-free tamari-free hoisin is optional at the table.

Contains: fish, soy, wheat.

From The Best 100: our home version, inspired by Le Colonial, Houston. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 6 · 4 hr · Medium

Goat is the Jalisco way; beef chuck and short rib work just as well. The meat cooks over broth, and that broth becomes the consomé.

You need

• 4 lb (1.8 kg) goat on the bone, or beef chuck and short ribs
• 4 guajillo chiles and 3 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 chiles de árbol
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) cider vinegar
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 4 cloves, 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp salt
• Chopped onion, cilantro, lime and corn tortillas, to serve

How to make it

1. Toast the chiles in a dry pan 30 seconds a side, then soak in hot water 15 minutes.
2. Blend the chiles with the garlic, onion, tomatoes, vinegar, spices and 1 cup (240 ml) soaking water until smooth.
3. Rub the meat with salt and half the adobo and leave 1 hour (or overnight).
4. Put the meat in a heavy pot with the bay leaves, the rest of the adobo and 6 cups (1.4 l) water. Cover tightly and cook in a 325°F (165°C) oven 3 hours, until the meat falls from the bone.
5. Lift out the meat and shred it. Skim the fat from the broth (save some for frying tacos) and season: that's the consomé.
6. Serve the meat with a cup of hot consomé, onion, cilantro, lime and tortillas.

Chef's tips

• Dip tortillas in the skimmed red fat and griddle them with meat and cheese for quesabirria.

Contains: none of the major allergens..

Chef Amazing's own recipe, written for a home kitchen. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 6 · 1 hr 45 min · Easy

The trick is tempering: hot broth goes into the eggs a ladle at a time, so they thicken instead of scrambling.

You need

• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 lb / 1.6 kg)
• 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
• 1 onion, halved, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk
• 2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 cup (150 g) medium-grain rice (or orzo)
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• Juice of 2 large lemons (about 1/2 cup / 120 ml)

How to make it

1. Simmer the chicken with the water, onion, carrot, celery and salt, skimming, for 1 hour 15 minutes.
2. Lift out the chicken and strain the broth back into the pot (about 2 1/2 quarts / 2.4 l). Shred some of the meat for the soup; keep the rest for another meal.
3. Bring the broth to a simmer, add the rice and cook 15 to 18 minutes until tender. Turn the heat to its lowest.
4. In a bowl, beat the eggs until frothy, then beat in the lemon juice. Whisking constantly, add 3 ladles of hot broth, one at a time.
5. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot, stirring, and heat gently 2 to 3 minutes without letting it boil, until it coats a spoon. Add the chicken, season with pepper and serve.

Chef's tips

• If it does boil and curdle, take it off the heat and whisk hard; it's still delicious.
• Reheat leftovers gently; the rice keeps thickening it.

Contains: egg.

Our recipe, the same one we give for egg-lemon chicken soup in Athens. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.