… To Cure What Ails You!
Don’t let the image fool you … this soup is picture perfect!
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 the cold and flu season still causing havoc for many, and running rampant through Daily Forage, I decided to re-post one of our favorite soups to help ease through the healing process. The “stock” can be made in large batches, and kept on hand in the freezer, making the soup-making process quick and easy when you’re in a hurry, or just don’t feel up to cooking something involved. Prepare the simple stock, add the veggies (you can follow our recipe or use whatever veggies you have on hand), let simmer a few minutes, and your soup is ready to provide soothing warmth and comfort. And if that even seems too much effort at the moment, the stock by itself brings warmth and comfort. If you’re looking for something just a bit more filling, this recipe adapts well by scooping a cup of pre-cooked white or brown rice in the bottom of the bowl, then adding the soup. Yum!
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.
This gluten-free asian vegetable soup 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 (or omit the meat or substitute it with vegan meat to create a vegan asian soup). 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 my family’s favorite versions. Be sure to share your favorite version with me.
Gluten-free Asian Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
Stock Ingredients
- 4 cups gluten-free, 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 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 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
Feature Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 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 leaves
- peeled and grated fresh ginger, to taste
Directions
- 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.
- Adding 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.
Safe food is a journey … Thrive!™
Other recipes you might enjoy:
Mexican Chicken Soup
Cruciferous Broccoli Cauliflower Soup
8 Comments
Leave a Reply to Connie Veilleux Cancel reply
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Delicious food
So glad you like it. Thanks for stopping by!
It was delicious. I tried it and it was extremely amazing!! My family just loved it. Thank you for sharing this piece of yummy recipe.
So glad you loved it, Claire! Thanks so much for your feedback. It makes it rewarding to share even more. 🙂
With the weather getting cold, this is looking like a great idea.
Hi Jason! Yes, it’s a very comforting soup for the cold weather … and the cold weather bug! Hope you try it. Let me know your taste-testing results. 😉 xConnie
The recipe truly sounds and looks like an Asian comfort food, Connie! I like the fact that it is gluten-free and that I can mix any kind of vegetable that I want. Is it okay to omit the sweet chili sauce or what’s a good alternative to it for this recipe for those who are not into spicy stuff?
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your question. I’m glad the soup sounds/looks so good to you. It’s a favorite at our house. The sweet chili sauce actually doesn’t really add much spice/heat to the soup, just an extra flavor depth. It’s the chili oil that will cause heat in this soup. So, I’d recommend keeping the sweet chili sauce in your version, and omitting or reducing the chili oil to minimize/eliminate the heat. I hope this helps. Let me know how it works out for you! xConnie