Clear Chinese Vegetable Soup with Napa, Snow Peas & Mushrooms

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A clean, restorative bowl built on a quick ginger-scallion broth, loaded with silky napa cabbage, snappy snow peas and earthy mushrooms. Everything simmers in under 15 minutes, and a final splash of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil off the heat keeps the flavor bright instead of muddy.

Ingredients

• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 4 slices fresh ginger, coined, about 1/8-inch thick
• 3 scallions, white parts smashed, green parts thinly sliced and reserved
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 dried shiitake mushroom (optional, for depth)

• 4 cups napa cabbage, cut crosswise into 1-inch ribbons
• 5 oz fresh shiitake or cremini mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 4 oz snow peas, strings removed, halved on the diagonal
• 1 medium carrot, sliced into thin coins
• 1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (optional)

• 1 tbsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar (optional)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• white pepper, to taste
• chili oil, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the vegetable broth, water, ginger coins, smashed scallion whites, smashed garlic and the dried shiitake (if using) in a 4-quart pot. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, then cook gently for 8 minutes to infuse. Do not let it boil hard — a rolling boil clouds the broth.
2. Fish out and discard the ginger, garlic and scallion whites with a slotted spoon. If you used the dried shiitake, remove it, slice it thinly and return the slices to the pot.
3. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the broth to a gentle simmer. Add the carrot coins and sliced fresh mushrooms and cook 3 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened and darkened.
4. Add the napa cabbage — stems first, leafy ribbons a few seconds later — along with the tofu cubes if using. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes, just until the cabbage stems are translucent at the edges but still have a little bite.
5. Stir in the snow peas and cook exactly 60 to 90 seconds. They should stay bright green and snappy; any longer and they go army-drab.
6. Turn off the heat. Now season: stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar if using, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Taste the broth on its own and adjust with a few more drops of soy or a pinch of salt until it tastes clean and savory rather than salty. Finish with a couple of pinches of white pepper.
7. Ladle into bowls, making sure each one gets a mix of cabbage, mushrooms and snow peas. Scatter the sliced scallion greens over the top and add a drizzle of chili oil at the table if you want heat.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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