Immunity Miso Soup

I call this Immunity Soup because the almost raw garlic and ginger have
antibacterial and antiviral properties; good to sweat out a fever or kick a sore throat in the pants. The unpasteurized kimchi or sauerkraut gives it added benefits, as these fermented foods are full of enzymes and the fermented cabbage aids in intestinal health. (Especially essential if you have taken antibiotics!)

This recipe is what my friend calls a soup-salad. It is raw veggies in a bowl with a warming broth poured over top, this creates a super quick to make, crunchy, vibrant, nearly raw soup.

Time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 Liter stock or water (you can use homemade chicken, beef, mushroom or vegetable stock, but even water is fine.)
• 1 teaspoon minced or grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced, pressed or grated
• 1/2 Thai chili, chopped finely (or more, or none)
• 3-4 leaves of kale
• 2 carrots, made into ribbons or ‘noodles’ with a vegetable peeler. Daikon is a good substitute or addition to this, also peeled like the carrots.
• 1/4 cup Miso (I use genmai or brown miso)
• 1/4 cup, or your preference of unpasteurized sauerkraut or kimchi (or Sea ‘Chi)

Optional (more filling) Noodles: I like the thicker pad Thai rice noodles, or super-fine rice vermicelli. Get the brown rice variety if you can.

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, bring stock or water to a boil.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and chili to the liquid. Add noodles and cook until almost done. For rice noodles, this can be 1 minute or so. Once noodles are nearly done, take the pot off of the heat.
3. Meanwhile, make a paste with miso in a bowl and some water to thin it out. It should be the consistency of peanut butter. (This makes it easier to incorporate into the soup than adding the miso directly.)
4. Whisk in miso.
5. Prepare bowls with shredded raw vegetables in the bottom. Pour soup over veggies.
6. Now add a generous amount of unpasteurized sauerkraut or kimchi. Garnish with green onions or cilantro if you like.

Variations: Use this basic broth as a base for other broth soups- like add frozen wontons, homemade raviolis, seaweed or quickly cook broccoli for a hearty broccoli broth soup.