Having successfully made it through winter without a flu shot or the flu, I was taken aback by a head cold at the beginning of March. Sluggish and phlegmy, but not sick enough to stay home from work, I needed a cure - and fast. Immediately, I thought of a spicy kimchi soup I once tried at Seoul Garden in Korea town. Since I was sick, I didn't take the time to research traditional kimchi soups; rather, I based this version off ingredients already in my pantry/refrigerator. I was stunned with how well it turned out, and it certainly sped up my healing process. To boot, I liked it so much that I made a second batch, adding in some leftover pulled pork that I had frozen from my last supper club. What I've posted is the basic recipe, but feel free to add extra heat, protein or whatever else strikes your fancy.
Kimchi Soup
Prep: 5 minutes; Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 cups broth (of choice - I used a combo of chicken and vegetable)
- 1 head *napa cabbage, roughly chopped (bite size)
- 1/2 jar kimchi
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 jalapeno, small dice
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 1 tbsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tbsp tumeric
- 1 tbsp paprika
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Quickly heat tomato paste in the bottom of your soup pot, over medium heat. Add broth and turn to high heat.
- Add kimchi, lemon juice, napa cabbage and jalapeno.
- Once mixture is fully heated, add ginger powder, tumeric, paprika, salt and stir. (Adjust spices/salt to your personal taste, as needed.)
- Heat until stalks of napa cabbage are tender. Serve piping hot.
*Savoy or green cabbage will also work, if napa is not available at your grocery store. (You may notice, in my picture, that I used savoy cabbage, since I couldn't find napa for my second batch.)