This Charred Shanghai Bok Choy Miso Soup is a quick and easy dish you can make in just 15 minutes. It's a great way to fill half your plate with veggies and it's also an easy way to reduce food waste! Our quick and easy miso soup recipe is a winner.
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Soup is universal comfort food, whether it's a big bowl of hot chicken noodle soup, a steaming bowl of pho, the university staple of ramen or, in today's case, Charred Shanghai Bok Choy Miso Soup with Asian Veggies.
The great thing about soup is, as long as you start with a good stock base, the sky's the limit. You can toss in whatever you like. You can clean out the fridge of all those veggie odds and ends, you can experiment with your proteins, you can even make the colour match your mood: a fiery red tomato soup, a deep burgundy borscht or a bright, fresh green soup to celebrate spring (we don't recommend the blue soup that Bridget Jones made though!).
This month, Jason Lee from Shut Up and Eat has created a fresh, green Charred Shanghai Bok Choy Miso Soup with Asian Veggies for us to show you just how easy (and FAST) it is to get a big bowl of soup on the table while packing half your plate with vegetables.
How is Shanghai Bok Choy Different From Regular Bok Choy?
Regular bok choy has very crinkly, dark green leaves and white stalks - there's a noticeable colour definition between the stalks and the leaves.
Shanghai bok choy has stalks that are more spoon shaped with smoother leaves. The leaves and stalks are also a lighter shade of green. Shanghai bok choy also has a milder, some say sweeter, taste than regular bok choy. It grows much bigger than regular bok choy but it's often harvested at the "baby" stage of its growth so you might also find it being sold as Baby Bok Choy. But, just to make things confusing, occasionally regular bok choy is labeled as baby bok choy! When in doubt look at the colour of the leaves and stalks!
What Is Dashi Stock?
You'll notice that the recipe calls for dashi stock. Dashi stock is commonly used in Japanese cooking as well as other types of Asian cooking. It's a type of fish broth made with a combination of dried kelp (kombu), dried and/or fermented, shaved skipjack tuna (katsuobushi) and anchovies or sardines.
You can substitute vegetable stock or chicken stock for dashi stock but if you want to give it a try you can find dashi stock in Asian grocery stores, Whole Foods and even on Amazon.
Stocking Miso Paste In Your Pantry
Keeping miso paste in your fridge means you'll always have the means to make a fast bowl of soup. Miso paste is made from fermented soy beans and it's great for adding to soups, sauces, dressings and stir fry dishes - just to name a few.
There are different types of miso paste - this recipe calls for white miso paste which has the mildest flavour making it more versatile in the kitchen. It's definitely the one you want to start with if you're new to using miso paste. (yellow and red are the other types of miso paste). Store your miso paste in the fridge.
All the Asian veggies in this recipe cook up exceptionally fast. Charring the Bok Choy will add another level of flavour to your soup.
For storage, nutrition and shopping tips, check out these links for Bok Choy, mushrooms, and cabbage.
Slurp up and enjoy!
- 6 cups dashi stock (substitute chicken or vegetable stock)
- 5 tablespoons white miso paste
- 5 tablespoons hot water
- 3 heads of Shanghai bok choy sliced in half lengthwise.
- ½ cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup trimmed enoki mushrooms
- 2 cups shredded Napa cabbage
- ¼ cup sliced green onion (reserve some for garnish)
- 1½ cups ½ inch cubes of firm tofu
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
- Bring stock to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk miso paste with hot water into a slurry and add it to the stock and boil for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Add mushrooms, tofu, green onions and cabbage, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat pan or grill on medium-high. Brush the cut side of the bok choy with oil and char for 5 minutes.
- Place the charred bok choy into serving bowls and ladle soup over.
- Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot.
More Reading
- Over 50 Homemade Soup Recipes
- 18 Grilled Veggie Recipes
- 20 Minute Meal: Coconut and Bean Soup with A Crostini Bar
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