I’ve been making this soup for a couple of years now. It has everything you need to feel better, sooner. It has the immediate benefits of clearing up your stuffiness for a few minutes and the added bonuses of more garlic and ginger than you could otherwise manage to eat. You can make it as clear and thin as you like or dress it up with noodles or rice. It really does make you feel better.
I make it in two steps, but you can feel free to skip the first one if you’re pressed for time. If you sick and no one is making this for you, then I’d skip the first step, throw all the ingredients in the pot, get it to boil and just get to the eating.
Serves 4, as a meal
Broth
1 large onion, sliced
10 cloves garlic, diced
3 inches fresh ginger, diced
2 stalks lemongrass, peeled and chopped
3 or 4 kefir lime leaves (I used dried)
5 mushrooms, cut in half
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
Hot pepper, to taste (I used half a ghost pepper)
1 litre vegetarian chicken stock
1 litre water
Salt, to taste
Combine all ingredients and bring to boil over high heat. Let simmer until the liquid has evaporated to about half the amount you put in, for at least 45 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Strain out liquid, smushing all the liquid out of the vegetables and set aside.
Soup
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 pound extra firm tofu, salted and chopped
Zest and juice of one lime
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
Salt, to taste
Fresh cilantro, mint and basil, chopped
Bean sprouts
Lime wedges
Return the hot broth to your soup pot and add the carrot, onion, garlic, ginger, tofu, mushroom, lime zest and juice. Bring back up to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Once the carrots are soft, add the broccoli, and whatever optional add-ins you wish, to the soup. Serve in a big bowl topped with fresh herbs and bean sprouts, lime wedges on the side.
I did a bowl with buckwheat ramen and spinach at the bottom and added water chestnuts, baby corn, red pepper and mushrooms to the pot this time around.
Optional add-in ideas
Fresh spinach
Water chestnuts
Bok choy
Baby corn
Red bell pepper
Cauliflower
Cherry tomatoes
Nappa cabbage
King oyster mushrooms, fried or raw