All this constant Go Go Go in my new Vancouver life left me with a horribly sore throat this morning. I immediately craved hot lemon ginger honey tea and miso soup - serious childhood staples. These are the 'feel good' things that have been in my cooking repertoire for as long as I can remember.
For the tea: Fill a medium sized sauce pan with fresh, cold water, about 3 cups. Add to it a 3 inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped. There is no need to peel the ginger, as you will strain the tea at the end. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for about fifteen minutes. The longer you simmer, the stronger the tea will be. Add honey to taste, remembering that honey has great antibacterial properties and is ultra soothing for a sore throat. I like to add a touch of cayenne pepper at the end to heat me up, but that is totally optional. I usually just put a spoon on the side of the saucepan while I pour it into a mug, but you can strain it in a colander or through cheesecloth. You can keep filling up the pan with more water and repeating the process, boiling the tea a bit longer each time and adding more lemon or ginger to taste. Drink this back and feel better.
The thing I crave the most when I am sick is miso soup. Miso soup has been a comfort food my whole life. Some of my earliest childhood memories are at the sushi bar at Sushi Hiro, downtown Calgary on 5th avenue and 6th street, where the miso soup is simple: tofu, green onions and that perfect dashi broth that makes it all come together.
At home it's easy enough to recreate this delectable soup.
Bring a pot of cold fresh water to boil. If you have chicken or vegetable stock, you can use that too. Today I used a chicken bullion cube and it worked out quite nicely. If you are using bullion, wait until the water is at a rolling boil, then add the cube, whisking until combined. I like soba noodles in my soup, but you can use rice noodles, regular pasta noodles, egg noodles, rice...get creative. I chopped up some extra firm tofu into small cubes and stir fried it on medium high heat until it was golden in a little bit of canola oil. I added some sesame oil and a bit of soy sauce and removed from the heat.
When the noodles are cooked, take a bit of the hot broth out into a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of miso to it. I like Amano brand Shiro type miso. Experiment with different types and brands, everyone has their favourite. You can usually find it in the refrigerated section in health food stores. Mix with a whisk or a fork until there are no lumps and add back into the soup. Remove from heat, add the tofu and I like green onions and green peas in it.
Serve immediately and get better!!!
Happy cooking friends.
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