Shiitake mushroom, tofu and bok choy soup
At 鈥檚 appearance in Seattle last week, he mentioned one of his well-known , 鈥淒on鈥檛 eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn鈥檛 recognize as food.鈥�
The intent, of course, is to eliminate highly processed foods that are full of artificial ingredients. My great-grandmother would not have recognized Go-Gurt, or Pop Tarts, or anything made with carrageenan or guar gum or red dye #40 or 鈥渘atural and artificial flavors鈥�.
It鈥檚 a good rule. But I started thinking about this soup recipe I鈥檝e wanted to share with you 鈥� my Shiitake, Tofu and Bok Choy Soup. This soup is so simple, clean-flavored, and pure that it feels like spa food. It would be just the thing for lunch outside under the trees between meditation in the morning and a massage in the afternoon. It only has a handful of ingredients, but offers a pleasing contrast of textures鈥搒mooth, crunchy, chewy. Plus, it only takes about half an hour to make.
The soup certainly holds to the spirit of Michael Pollan鈥檚 food rules. But when I thought about what my grandmother鈥檚 reaction to this soup would be, let alone my great-grandmother, I got a fit of the giggles. Because while some grandmas would no doubt recognize ingredients like tofu and bok choy, my sweet Midwestern grandma would be completely nonplussed.
I decided that what some of us might need is an extra great-grandma 鈥� an Imaginary Granny, just like the imaginary friend named Edna that I palled around with when I was about nine years old. In fact, I could use an entire council of Imaginary Grannies from all over the world. With all due respect to my extant grandmother, my first Imaginary Granny is going to be Japanese. Boy, is Obaasan ever going to come in handy as part of my food conscience advisory council! And all of the ingredients in this soup are fully recognized and approved by her.
銇娿伆銇伞仌銈�
Shiitake mushroom,tofu and bok choy soup
Olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
8 cups stock (I used turkey stock, but chicken or vegetable would work fine)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 bunch bok choy, chopped
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
7 ounces firm tofu, cubed
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and saut茅 just until translucent, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium high, add more oil if needed, and add mushrooms; saut茅 until lightly browned. Add garlic, tamari, fish sauce, and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add bok choy and tofu. Simmer gently until bok choy is tender, about 5-10 minutes.
Christina Masters blogs at .
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