This recipe – or various variations of it – is what I go for when I want something warm and comforting, with a little saltiness and some veggies thrown in, and whenever I’m eating alone in the evenings. I generally prefer to eat my main meal for lunch and keep things very light during dinner, say for example Greek yoghurt with honey and some fruit, porridge (yes, porridge), a salad or simply a warm drink before bed. It’s got nothing to do with strange diets or the likes; it’s just something that works well for me.

This soup fits in this slot perfectly. It can be done without concentration, because I don’t have enough of that in the evenings and come on, you hardly need an actual recipe for it! But here it is anyway. Remember – you can adapt it however you like and with any quantities you want. You could also add some form of cooked pieces of meat or fish depending on your preference. I make this often and the result is never the same!

200g dried noodles

1.5 litres vegetable stock

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 star anise

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger or ½ teaspoon powdered ginger

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

around 100g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 heads pak choi**

fresh coriander, chopped

Heat up the stock in a saucepan and add the dark brown sugar, star anise, ginger and soy sauce. When it starts to simmer add the noodles. After a couple of minutes add the mushrooms and the pak choi and chopped coriander. **If you cannot get your hands on pak choi, substitute it with spinach or with broccoli chopped into small florets. It won’t taste the same but it will certainly do.**

Give the soup a taste and if needed add some seasoning. I add nothing since the soy sauce already packs a salty punch. I serve this when the pak choi has wilted in the stock. For 2.

This post is rather short and sweet, as is the recipe, but I’m sure I will return to my more chatty ones very soon.

Rob.

(Recipe very loosely adapted from Nigella Express, Chatto & Windus, 2007.)