When all you need is soup. Sounds kind of sad, but sometimes its really all you need or rather want. And when its this kind of a humble heart warming soup, move everything else away. I'll be totally satisfied with this.
If you've been to Souplantation and visited during their Asian week, they have a ginger broth as one of the soups. That thing is da bomb! Amazing little concoction. They should just make that thing a regular all year long. Then I wouldn't crave it as much. Well, maybe its a good thing. I finally got around to making this myself. And please, I'm in no way comparing mine to theirs. However, mine is good and totally to my taste. Try it yourself and you'll love it too.
I know this is perfect for cold winter evenings and its hot now that summer is here. But hey, this is something you could have cold too. Its a good recipe for a cold soup as well. Speaking of cold soups, I recently saw a recipe for a cold strawberry soup. Not sure if I'll like it but wanted to at least try it.
Coming back to this soup, you can customize this to your taste. If you are not a tofu person, try this with mushrooms, broccoli, or even cauliflower. Tofu gives the required protein and makes this a healthy and wholesome option.
Chop up some onion, ginger and garlic. Try not to use too much garlic as this can overpower the flavor and you don't want a strong aftertaste. I love more of the ginger flavor but that again is a personal preference.
In a pan, add one tsp of oil. When hot, add the chopped ingredients. Saute for a min or two.
Add water or veggie broth. This soup is great when its clear. You can make your own veggie stock and use here. I used the broth from trader joe's and this has a little brown color to it.
Let this cook and boil for about 10 mins. We will be straining all the big pieces of garlic and ginger later on. so don't fret yet that I put all of this just like that.
While that is boiling, chop up some soft tofu into small cubes.
I like a little bite in my soup and hence added about a quarter of an onion chopped up finely. Saute this in a tsp of oil.
Add some grated carrot and the chopped tofu.
I also added a little finely chopped green beans to the soup.
What I did was pick a few pieces of the completely cooked ginger, onion and garlic pieces - just a spoonful and add that to the soup. Just for a ginger bite..
Let this cook for a few mins until the tofu start rising up.
Pour and enjoy. Add some finely chopped cilantro on top for a garnish.
A bowl of goodness. Not just for the soup boys. (total tamil movie reference -look up Kolaveri if you have no clue what this means)
