Spicy happy healthy bok choi and broth

When it is cold and dark outside, my insides want something warm. Traditionally, this means thick soups and sturdy stews and substantial braises. But sometimes, I find the pendulum swings the other way. On those days, I have been making a concoction recommended to me by my genius friend C.

Eating this makes me both warm and full. But it also makes me feel quick and light and keen, rather than like a cozy fat hamster ready to hibernate (which is a fine sensation in its place, just not always what I want).

Like this avocado and quinoa bowl, it is a magic medicinal food that tastes good, feels good while you eat it, and makes you feel good for hours afterward. Steve and I are both besotted. It is in heavy rotation. It is also practically instant to make, which I appreciate on the particularly cold, dark nights when I get home from teaching at eight-thirty or nine.

ZING

Per person:

• 1 cup light veggie broth. If you don't have anything homemade on hand, you can use the kind from a box, or bouillon, or miso. Recently I've been using homemade bouillon from this recipe on 101 Cookbooks.
• About a teaspoon of minced ginger.
• 2 baby bok choi, both white and green parts, cut into 1"-2" pieces.
• 1/4 medium onion, sliced very thin.
• About a quarter cup, or more, of the chopped protein of your choice: cooked chicken, tofu, whatever.
• A very hearty squirt of sriracha or glob of chili-garlic sauce.
• Some chopped cilantro.

Heat the broth and ginger in a covered pan while you chop the bok choi, onion, and protein. Toss them into the pot, re-cover, and simmer just a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the hot sauce and cilantro. Eat.

Comments

[snarkout]

This is an unbelievably good recipe that's basically as fast as nuking a pizza in the microwave and, as Red says, makes you feel wholesome after you eat it. A++ WOULD DO BUSINESS AGAIN.

[David Jacobs]

"favorited"

[Elsa]

Oooh, this sounds perfect for the late suppers we often have. (The Fella works until 11:30 most nights, and usually wants something to nosh when he gets home.) And except for the cilantro, I have everything in the fridge right now. Lovely.

[Nellig]

Brilliant! I didn't think a dinner without carbs would be bearable, but this is surprisingly filling.

It's even good with thinly sliced carrot and without coriander. Plus a sliced hardboiled egg. It also looks incredibly elegant and Asian.

[aleza (aka rubychard)]

i have been making something similar, only with soba noodles: in addition to making it a little more substantial, the leftover cooking water + miso is a nice substitute for broth if you don't have any around. i also saute the ginger and onion (or garlic) and bok choy before adding it to the noodles & broth: which makes my version both a little heavier and a little more complicated, but it's still done in 15 minutes.

also, hello! way back when, i used to read your blog, and then the website was blocked for a long time, but i am glad to have found the blog again in this next incarnation. also, the pointless forest, which kept me giggling for a long time the other night.

[redfox]

DJ: It is just the kind of thing I can imagine the two of you eating, in fact. Chicken?

Elsa: Truly, it is the queen of late-night dining, I would imagine all the more so at 11:30 than at 9.

Nellig: Your variations sound excellent. We often have a spare hard-boiled egg in the fridge on bok choi nights, too -- I'll have to give that a try.

Aleza: Hello! I'm very glad you found me again. I just picked up a new tub of miso, too.

[NOJuju]

I'm making this for lunch right now.