Soup for an incipient cold

Ok, this post is not technically an "Aussie food" post. Last night, I felt like I was coming down with a cold. You know the deal, that almost a sore throat, runny nose, almost a fever kind of feeling.

I don't know about you, but when I feel a cold coming on, I want a nice hearty soup. I like ginger, garlic, miso and greens to boost immunity. So I cooked this:


Asian Inspired Tofu, Rice and Vegetable Soup

Serves 6

2 tablespoons rice bran oil or other mild cooking oil
320 g extra firm tofu, cut into 1 1/2 cm cubes
1 small onion
4 cloves crushed garlic (I cheated and used the stuff from a jar)
1 cm piece fresh ginger, minced
1 cup rice
bunch Asian greens (I used choy sum, but you could use gai lan, bok choy or wombok)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped into 2 cm pieces
4 sliced mushrooms
2 sliced carrots
5 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons cooking sherry
4 tablespoons miso paste
Water

1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil. Add the tofu and onion. Fry over a gentle heat until onion is translucent.
2. Add garlic and ginger. Fry gently until ginger is fragrant.
3. Chop the Asian greens. Separate the stems and leaves. You will be putting them in at different stages.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients, other than the miso paste and leaves of your Asian greens.
   
5. cover with water to about 5 cm above the other ingredients. To speed this up, I boiled the water in a kettle and just poured over the boiling water.
6. Bring to boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until rice is cooked.
7. Add the leaves of your green and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Remove from heat and add miso paste. Stir well to combine.
   
9. Add more boiling water, if you want more liquid.
10. Serve and enjoy.

It was very good. You could add chilli if you like spicy soups. Did it work to cure my cold? Well I don't feel too bad today, so maybe it helped.