The Holiday season is full of joy but it can also be really cold! In our family, we make soups to keep our home and our hearts warm. In this week’s Community Harvest CSA, green is still popping with Baby Bok Choy from Bridgewater Farm, grown locally in Bridgewater, IA. Bok Choy can be enjoyed in so many ways but of course soup is where it’s at! We add Bok Choy to any veggie soup because it doesn’t change the overall taste of your fave soups and it soaks up all the soupy flavor while maintaining its yummy crunch. One of my favorite online Chef’s, Made with Lau, has a Bok Choy and Pork Soup recipe that looks wonderful. Soup can fill your tummy and heal your soul, especially when it’s Made with Lau, so this week’s blog is dedicated to sharing this recipe and the family who serves up all the love.
Made with Lau: Bok Choy and Pork Soup
Main Ingredients:
1 lb baby bok choy (the larger bok choy works too, more on this later), 4 oz pork chop
Soup Base:
14 oz chicken broth, 5 cup water (soup base), 2 slice ginger (optional - just a few slices), 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp chicken bouillon (optional)
Pork Marinade:
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp water
Step 1: Prepare pork
To prepare our pork chops (4 oz), we'll first need to trim away the fatty edges.
Then, we'll cut the pork chops perpendicular to the muscle grains into a few pieces, and then into thin slices (about 2mm thick). This helps give the meat more of a tender chew when we eat it.
Next, we'll marinate our pork with cornstarch (1 tsp), oyster sauce (1 tsp), and water (1 tbsp). Stir the mixture until it’s fairly even, and add the pork. Using a bit of force, massage the pork for about 30 seconds to help the pork absorb the marinade.
Step 2: Wash bok choy
We'll need to wash the baby bok choy (1 lb) thoroughly:
Peel away each individual stem, and toss them into a bowl of large water
Scrub your fingers along the bottom of each stem closest to the root. Dirt usually accumulates here. Rinse under running water. If you have time, my parents like to soak the bok choy in water for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Trim bok choy
The stalks of bok choy are all inherently different sizes, so we'll want to make two cuts for the bigger stalks: One to separate the stalks in half and another to separate them from the leaves. You don't absolutely have to do this, but it helps with the texture. You can skip this for smaller stalks. While you have your knife out, cut a few thin slices of ginger (2 slice) if you're opting to include it. We always use a few slices.
Step 4: Prepare soup base
Set your stove to high heat. In a pot, we'll bring water (5 cup) and chicken broth (14 oz) to a boil. We'll also add oil (1 tsp), salt (1 tsp), and ginger (2 slice) (optional). The salt and oil help to preserve the bok choy's color. Cover, and wait for it to boil.
Step 5: Cook bok choy
Once the pot has come to a boil, we'll throw in our bok choy, starting with the stems. These are thicker and take longer to cook. Shortly after, we'll throw in the leaves. Cover, and wait for the pot to return to a gentle boil.
Step 6: Cook pork
Once the bok choy has returned to a boil, add the pork slices a few at a time, making sure to separate them from one another. We can also add chicken bouillon (1 tsp) (optional). Stir for a bit. After adding the pork chops, once the pot returns to a boil, the soup is ready to eat. This should take about 1-2 minutes.
Step 7: Plate & enjoy!
After you’ve cooked it, we can keep the bok choy in the soup and eat it as is. Or, often what we’ll do is scoop the bok choy out, drink the soup, and eat the bok choy separately. If you're making this in a bigger batch, you may want to transfer the bok choy out of the soup, as it will start to lose its color and firmness the longer it sits in hot water. It’s up to you!
Check out their website here!
Watch the Video of Chef Lau making this deliciously healing Bok Choy soup!
