Soups On!

I'll admit - I'm not the biggest soup fan. Most of them are watered down broths with overcooked vegetables, that I'm sure by that point, have hardly any nutritional value. But lately I've encountered some great soups. I have to say that even I (the soup hater) have been impressed.

For the past year I've been making what I call "Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup." I have a great cookbook about traditional Chinese foods (seee photo above) by Nina Simonds and I've tinkered with a recipe in there and came up with my own. Yum. It's my favorite soup for when I'm sick, stressed out or in need of healthy comfort food. If you want the original recipe it's on page 33 - "Homey Chicken Soup." Here is my version though:

Katie's Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

1 32 oz. chicken (or veggie) broth
1 small head of Napa cabbage (although I've used regular cabbage when that's all I could find at the store)
1 tsp. canola oil
4 carrots, peeled and diced
3-4 celery chopped
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed lightly
2 inches (?) of fresh ginger, peeled and diced
3-4 baby bok choy (love these little guys)
2 Tblsp rice wine or sake
1/2 lb of FRESH shitake mushrooms, stems trimmed and cut in quarters
2 ounces bean threads (cellophane noodles), softened in hot water to cover (or if unavail substitute 1/3 lb thin rice stick noodles or vermicelli, softened in warm water to cover)
Salt
Sesame oil
Cooked chicken (whatever pieces you have on hand that are skinned and boned. I usually add in some breasts or thighs or both! Or I add in raw chicken while it's boiling and boil the chicken. Whatever works!).
OPTIONAL - Kimchi!

1. Using a sharp knife, cut away stem of cabbage and discard. Cut the cabbage in half and cut the leaves into 2-inch squares, separating the leafy sections from the tough ones. Do the same with the bok choy. Place the cabbage and bok choy sections in a bowl. Set by the stove with the shitake mushrooms.


2. Heat a large pot and add oil. Heat until VERY hot. Add the garlic cloves, ginger, the harder sections of the cabbage and bok choy, carrots and celery and stir-fry over high heat for about 1 minute. Add the sake, cover, and continue cooking about 5 minutes until tender. Add the leafier sections, the shitake mushrooms and the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 20 minutes uncovered.

3. Add the cooked chicken to the soup. Drain the bean threads and cut them into 4-inch lengths. Add them to the soup and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in salt and sesame oil to taste.

4. Ladle into soup bowls and serve.

If I'm feeling like I need some more spice to really kick the cold out of me I add in a small jar of kimchi. I know, I know, it's not Chinese, but it tastes really good and it kicks my cold to the curb. Take that cold!

So if you have that nasty cold that is going around I hope this helps. I swear by this soup. It really makes me feel like I've taken a powerful anti-cold drug and fought back HARD against the stupid cold.

Enjoy!