Gluten Free Asian Vegetable Soup Recipe …

                              …to Cure What Ails You!

Starve a cold, feed a fever. Or is it, feed a cold, starve a fever? It doesn’t really matter which way it goes, this soup is sure to cure the cold or the fever. Well, that’s an exaggeration, and we can’t really claim it has healing powers, but this Asian vegetable soup recipe is packed full of vitamins and nutrition and definitely belongs in the “comfort food” category!

With a kick from the chile oil, a bit of sweetness from the sweet chili sauce, and garlic and ginger for the asian twist, this soup has all the ingredients to help clear a stuffy head, warm a congested chest cold, and soothe a sore throat. Packed with an abundance of vitamin A in the kale, vitamin C and beta-carotene in the carrots, and antioxidants in the cabbage, getting your vitamins and nutrients to help heal what ails you won’t be difficult. Of course, this soup is delicious, and good for you, even if you’re feeling just fine.

Our recipe is easy to make, and can be easily adapted, enabling you to use whatever extra vegetables you have on hand, or particularly like. The recipe has two basic parts: the stock (which can be made ahead and frozen for later use), and the soup’s feature ingredients, which include vegetables, rice, and meat (unless you are making it vegetarian-style). With the basic stock recipe, and using your creativity when adding the other ingredients, the delicious possibilities are endless. We’ve even had fun creating an Asian Soup Bar and let our guests design their own soup creations. Here’s one of our favorite versions. Be sure to share your favorite version with us.

Serves: 3-4

Total Prep and Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes

Stock Ingredients:

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

9 green onions, sliced into 1 inch lengths, include white end and part of green stem

3 tablespoons diced sweet baby bell peppers

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon onion powder

2-2 1/2 tablespoons gluten-free sweet chili sauce 

2 teaspoons gluten-free soy sauce (I like San-J brand)

1 tablespoon rice cooking wine

1/2 teaspoon chili oil

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

Salt to taste

Feature Ingredients:

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup shredded purple or white cabbage

1 cup asparagus, cut into 3/4 inch lengths sliced on the diagonal

1/2 cup cooked, shredded pork

1/2 cup cooked white or brown rice

1 cup thinly sliced kale

freshly grated ginger to taste

Directions for Stock:

Combine all Stock ingredients in a large soup pot. Heat over medium-high until broth just comes to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer over low for fifteen minutes. At this point, you can proceed with adding the feature ingredients to the entire pot, or you can cool the stock and save for future use. This stock recipe doubles easily and freezes well. With stock always on hand, it is easy to put together a quick and delicious meal at any time.

Directions for Feature Ingredients:

Once the stock has simmered for fifteen minutes, add the carrots, cabbage, and asparagus. Simmer until asparagus is crisp-tender, or to your liking. Be careful …overcooking the asparagus will cause it to become mushy. Add the pork (if not a vegetarian version) and rice. Cook another one to two minutes, or until the rice and pork are hot. To keep the kale bright green and crisp-tender, add it to the soup just prior to serving. Garnish with freshly grated ginger, to taste.

Let the comfort begin!