The best bowl in Miami: Haitian squash soup

Serves 6 · 10 hr 30 min (includes 8 hr soak)

A thick, savory Cuban-style black bean soup built on a slow-cooked sofrito of onion, green pepper and garlic, finished with a splash of vinegar. Serve it over fluffy white rice. Inspired by the black beans at Versailles in Miami.

You need

• 1 lb (454 g, about 2 1/4 cups) dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
• 10 cups water, divided (6 cups for soaking, 8 cups for cooking, minus a little to top up as needed)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion (about 10 oz), finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 large green bell pepper (about 8 oz), seeded and finely diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups (300 g) long-grain white rice
• 3 cups water for the rice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt for the rice
• 1/2 cup finely diced raw white onion for garnish
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

How to make it

1. Put the beans in the Dutch oven with 6 cups of the water and soak for 8 hours or overnight on the counter. They will swell to about double their size.
2. Drain the soaked beans and return them to the pot with 8 cups fresh water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, about 10 minutes, then skim off any foam.
3. Reduce the heat so the beans barely bubble, partly cover the pot, and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes. Add a splash of hot water if the beans are no longer covered by 1 inch of liquid.
4. While the beans simmer, heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and green pepper and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until very soft and the onion is translucent but not browned.
5. Stir the garlic, cumin, oregano and black pepper into the skillet and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Scrape this sofrito into the pot of beans, rinsing the skillet with 1/4 cup of the bean liquid and pouring that in too.
6. Add the 2 teaspoons salt to the pot and stir. Simmer, partly covered, for 45 minutes more, stirring now and then, until the beans are completely creamy-tender when pressed between your fingers.
7. Meanwhile, rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs mostly clear. Combine it in the saucepan with the 3 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat.
8. Cover the rice, turn the heat to the lowest setting, and cook for 18 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from the heat and let it stand covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
9. Fish out the bay leaves. Mash about 1 cup of the beans against the side of the pot with a potato masher, or pulse a few times with an immersion blender, until the soup thickens to a spoonable stew.
10. Simmer the thickened soup uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the vinegar and taste, adding more salt until the flavor is bright and round.
11. Let the pot rest off the heat for 10 minutes so the flavors settle. Spoon rice into bowls, ladle the soup on top, and finish with the raw onion and a drizzle of olive oil.

Pans and tools

• 6-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid
• 12-inch skillet
• medium saucepan with lid
• colander
• potato masher or immersion blender

Chef's tips

• Common mistake: skipping the soak and cooking at a hard boil, which splits skins and leaves the centers firm. Keep it at a gentle simmer.
• The soup always tastes better the next day. Refrigerate up to 5 days and thin with water when reheating over low heat.
• Freeze in portions for up to 3 months, without the rice.
• Swap: use a quick soak by boiling the beans for 2 minutes, then standing covered for 1 hour, before draining.

Contains: none.

From The Best 100: our home version, inspired by Versailles, Miami. 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 · 1 hr 15 min · Easy

A sofrito and a squeeze of lime set it apart from other chicken soups.

You need

• 2 1/2 lb (1.1 kg) chicken pieces, bone in
• 3 quarts (2.8 l) water
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, 1 green bell pepper and 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 bay leaf
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 1 malanga or yuca (about 1 lb / 450 g), peeled and cubed
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 ear of corn, in rounds
• 3 oz (85 g) fine egg noodles
• 2 tsp salt
• Limes and parsley, to serve

How to make it

1. Simmer the chicken in the water with the bay leaf and salt 40 minutes, skimming. Lift out, shred and discard the bones.
2. In the oil cook the onion, pepper and garlic 8 minutes, then the cumin, oregano and tomato 3 minutes.
3. Add the sofrito, potatoes, malanga, carrots and corn to the broth and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Add the noodles and chicken and simmer 5 minutes. Season.
5. Serve with parsley and lime wedges.

Chef's tips

• A spoon of the sofrito, not more salt, is what most cooks add when it tastes flat.

Contains: wheat, eggs (noodles)..

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 4 · 4 hr · Medium

Kyoto's classic is a clear-ish pork and chicken broth seasoned with a dark soy tare, topped with plenty of thinly sliced green onion. It's simpler than a tonkotsu: the broth simmers gently, not hard.

You need

• For the broth: 2 lb (900 g) pork neck bones, 2 lb (900 g) chicken backs, 4 quarts (3.8 l) water, 1 onion, 2-inch piece ginger, 6 garlic cloves, 1 piece kombu (4 inches)
• For the chashu: 1 1/2 lb (700 g) pork shoulder, tied; 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup mirin, 1/4 cup sake, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 cup water
• For the shoyu tare: 1/2 cup dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp of the chashu braising liquid
• 2 tbsp pork fat or lard (back fat if you can, for the classic seabura flecks)
• 4 portions (about 1 lb / 450 g) fresh thin straight ramen noodles
• To top: 1 big bunch scallions or kujo negi, thinly sliced on the diagonal; menma; a sprinkle of white pepper

How to make it

1. Blanch the pork bones and chicken backs in boiling water 10 minutes, drain and rinse.
2. Return them to a clean pot with the 4 quarts water, the onion, ginger and garlic. Bring to a boil, then keep at a gentle simmer, uncovered, 3 1/2 hours, skimming now and then. Add the kombu for the last 20 minutes only. Strain; you want about 2 quarts.
3. Meanwhile, brown the pork shoulder in a pot, add the soy, mirin, sake, sugar and water, cover and simmer on low 2 hours, turning every 30 minutes. Cool, then slice thin.
4. Make the tare: simmer the soy, mirin, sake and sugar 2 minutes, then add the braising liquid.
5. Melt the pork fat in a small pan.
6. Warm 4 deep bowls with hot water. Put 3 tbsp tare and 1/2 tbsp pork fat in each.
7. Boil the noodles in a big pot of unsalted water as the packet says (usually 60-90 seconds), shake dry and add to the bowls. Pour 1 1/2 cups simmering broth over each, then top with pork, menma, a big heap of green onions and white pepper.

Pans and tools

• 12-quart stockpot
• medium pot for the pork
• fine sieve
• large pot for noodles

Chef's tips

• Taste the first bowl and add tare a teaspoon at a time; it should taste salty-savory, not sharp.
• Kujo negi are Kyoto's long green onions; the green tops of leeks sliced paper-thin come close.
• The broth freezes well.

Contains: gluten, soy.

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