Sunday Soup Blogging

Some of the ingredients Ready for the pot Beautiful and delicious

What better than soup on a chilly, wet October day? This is a delicious amalgam of New England and Asian ingredients. (It was supposed to be fish soup, but turned out to be tofu soup since the fish had turned.) One thing I would do differently would be to add the tofu earlier, to give it a chance to soak up more flavor. The corn, tomato, and bok choy came from the farmers market. The tomato was 'Sunburst,' a variety I hadn't tried before. It turned out to be very meaty, with a very good flavor even though this was an end-of-season fruit. It also wasn't just large, it was honking huge; even after trimming out some bad spots, it yielded almost two cups. I used half of it for the soup, and saved half for another recipe. I also saved some seeds; I'll try it in the garden next year.

End of Summer Fish Tofu Soup

1 pint chicken stock, homemade
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
3 or 4 thin slices ginger
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and pounded
1 large tomato, chopped, skinned and deseeded if you prefer.
2 cups tender greens, sliced: use spinach, bok choy, chard, tender inner leaves of mustard or turnip
3 or 4 scallions, chopped in .5” pieces
kernals from 1 ear of corn
1 small hot chili, deseeded, cut into fine strips
.5 lb catfish nuggets
.25 .75 lb pound pressed tofu, in pieces about .25" x .25" x .75"
cilantro - generous handful, chopped
soy and/or fish sauce to taste

Bring chicken stock and 1 quart water to a low boil in a large soup pot. Add garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, season lightly with soy or fish sauce, and simmer just a few minutes. Add tomato, greens, scallions, corn, and chili, bring back to a low boil and simmer until veggies are just done. Add fish and tofu; simmer just until fish is done. Taste for seasoning and stir in cilantro.