Asian Bok Choy Soup

Asian Bok Choy Soup

The wonder of raised garden beds is how well they survive devastating flood conditions!  Despite the deluge of rain last week, Tom's vegetable garden survived remarkably well.  The bok choy is abundant and more than ready to be used.  Bok choy, an Asian green, contains high amounts of beta-carotene, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, calcium and iron.   That's why Tom planted copious amounts of it.  The first harvest yielded nearly a bushel basket full of hearty, yet tender, greens.  I was armed with recipes to try.  The one that looked most enticing was an easy Asian-inspired stir fry.  I decided I could easily modify it into a soup.  But my first attempt was entangled by my desire to be frugal and use the chili sauce I already had available in the refrigerator, rather than purchasing the sweet chili sauce listed as the ingredient in this recipe.   YAWZA!  It was hotter than I could tolerate.  But again, my frugality reigned and I was desperate not to waste any of the luscious bok choy greens.  So I boiled and pureed potatoes to add to it, and stirred in plain yogurt, and the resulting product was quite delicious.  But I still had an abundance of bok choy, so decided I would try making this soup again, using the sweet chili sauce.  Yes!  Delicious and definitely full of Pzazz!


Ingredients:

Garden bok choy

2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2" slice ginger root, minced
6 cups chopped bok choy leaves                              
1/2 Tablespoon Thai-style sweet chili sauce     
(use more if you like it spicy)
1 cup reduced-sodium vegetable broth

Optional garnish:  dollop of plain yogurt

Preparation:
Saute garlic and ginger in coconut oil until fragrant, but not brown.  Add chopped  bok choy and cook until it is wilted.  Add sweet chili sauce (more if you are adventurous) and distribute evenly.  Add broth and simmer until the  bok choy is tender.  Puree in a VitaMix or food processor.  The VitaMix did an incredibly great job of making this a smooth and creamy consistency.  Garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt if desired.

Cooking the bok choy with sweet chili sauce

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: Close to 1 cup
Calories: 169
Total Fat: 14 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 204 mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 7