Soup for Sickness
It's been a rather difficult past few weeks. Between moving into a new place, busy at work and getting into a rather terrible car accident, my immune system became vulnerable. I got sick right before heading on vacation in a few days.
I'm crushing liquids like never before, including this soup that I just had a craving to make, regardless of feeling too ill to move. I made it for dinner last night, and had the leftovers for lunch today, with hopes that I'll be well by tomorrow.
Even in my state, it's a super easy soup to assemble and only requires some chopping and waiting. When in a pinch, or sick like myself, I used a wonton soup base powder that I keep on hand from the local Asian market -- it's a little more mellower than miso paste, something I typically use. Combined with a Parmesan cheese rind, it makes for a subtle and clean broth, with just the right amount of salinity. I made the broth in a large batch to sip on throughout the next few days, and in fact am sipping on a cup as I type this.
I'm a huge fan on mushrooms and onions, thus the basis of this soup. The sweetness from the onions and earthiness from the mushroom was just the flavor I was craving and trying to achieve.
And for a special touch, and nod to my health, I added cilantro flowers and black garlic. Both of these are of course optional, but I had previously made the black garlic months ago in a large batch and the cilantro flowers are from my mother's garden.
Excuse the lack of pictures -- I definitely did not intend to write this recipe up, but it tastes so good that I couldn't omit it from the blog.
mushroom | onion | bok choy soup
for the broth:
4 quarts water
4 parmesan rinds
1/4 cup soup powder or bouillon cubes
1 yellow onion
salt, if needed
In a large stock pot, add all of the above ingredients. Bring to a boil on high heat, then reduce to a very low simmer. Let broth simmer for about 20 minutes, until the onions are translucent and falling apart. Add additional water if reducing too much. Season with salt if too bland.
When finished, remove the parm rinds. The onions can either be removed or kept in -- I don't like to waste them and think they are tasty as is!
Set aside 2 quarts to either freeze or use another time.
for the soup:
2 quarts broth
2 cups sliced button or Crimini mushrooms
2 heads baby bok choy, roughly chopped
1/4" ginger root, minced
1/2 cup leftover white rice
1 egg, beaten
garnish:
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves black garlic, roughly chopped
handful cilantro flowers, or regular cilantro greens
Bring the broth to a boil in a medium to large pot. When boiling, add the ginger and reduce to a simmer. Let the ginger steep for a few minutes, then add the bok choy and rice. Let cook another 3-4 minutes, then add the mushrooms and the beaten egg. Mix immediately so the egg gets well incorporated into the soup. It's important to only let the soup cook for an additional 2 minutes or so -- the mushrooms shouldn't be cooked too thoroughly.
Turn off the heat and ladle the soup. Then garnish with the scallions, cilantro and black garlic.
