Asian Broth Soup

You can add just about anything to this soup, and it is simply fabulous! You can’t help but feel light and healthy after eating it. It’s great for entertaining, as the prep is done earlier, and it’s a case of just throwing it all together at the last minute.

Ingredients

BASE

• 1 litre homemade stock
• one 7 cm piece of wakame or kombu seaweed
• 1/2 cup Kikkoman soy sauce (naturally brewed soy sauce – MSG free!)
• 1–2 sliced fresh chillies to taste
• 4–5 cloves of garlic sliced
• a small cube of ginger grated and then squeeze in the juice, discarding the pulp (the ginger should be subtle and not over bearing)
• 1–2 chicken breasts, skin off, sliced into 1/2 cm strips
• 1/3 cup of rice wine or mirin (from a Japanese cooking section in supermarkets or wholefoods stores – ensure it contains no MSG or preservatives and is completely natural)
• 2 sliced carrots, cut on an angle

ADDITIONAL VEGES

• 1 sliced red capsicum
• 1 sliced yellow capsicum
• 1 cup button mushrooms
• few shiitake mushrooms (optional)
• 1 or 2 sliced courgettes
• broccoli florets
• whatever else you like!

TOPPING PER SERVE

• handful sprouted mung beans
• sprinkle black sesame seeds (optional)
• sprinkle chilli powder (optional)
• juice of half a lime (optional)

Method

1. Add all the base ingredients to a large stockpot.
2. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, until chicken is lightly cooked through.
3. Remove seaweed, and add the additional veges.
4. Squeeze in the juice of two limes and stir.
5. Once veges are just tender but crisp, serve, topping with sprouted mung beans, black sesame seeds, chilli powder and lime juice. 

VARIATIONS:

• For a completely different flavour, try adding a good pinch of saffron flakes and chopped bacon. 
• Use smoked garlic instead of plain garlic. Yummy!