Mark Bittman's Chinese-Style Peanut Soup with Tofu & Bok Choy for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Soups are the ultimate one-pot meal and I have been meaning to make this variation of Mark Bittman's Spicy Peanut Soup with Chicken and Collards for a while now. It's an African-inspired soup, but this variation featuring tofu and bok choy, takes on an Asian flavor profile. 

The recipe is from Bittman's How to Cook Everything Fast, a good resource when you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. 

Chinese-Style Peanut Soup with Tofu & Bok Choy
Slightly Adapted from How to Cook Everything Fast
(Serves 4)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used 1 Tbsp coconut oil)
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1-inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 fresh hot green chile, seeded and minced
1 cup peanut butter, whisked together with 1/2 cup warm water
6 cups good veggie stock (I used low sodium non-chicken bouillon paste)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium tamari)
1 lb bok choy, or baby bok choy, trimmed, stems separated from leaves and chopped, leaves sliced crosswise into ribbons
1 lb firm tofu, pressed to remove the water, and cubed
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped for garnish
(I used cilantro leaves to garnish)

Place oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the green onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally until softened--2 or 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and chile and cook, stirring for  2 or 3 minutes.

Add the stock, scraping up any brownish bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the peanut butter mixture and soy sauce and raise the heat to high, bringing to a boil. When the soup boils, stir in the stems of the bok choy, reduce the heat, cover and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the bok choy leaves and the tofu cubes and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, undisturbed, until the leaves soften. 

Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve in bowls, garnished with the chopped peanuts and enjoy.

Notes/Results: I really enjoyed this soup with its savory peanut taste--it's rich and full of flavor, a bit like a Thai satay sauce. It goes together pretty quickly and the protein from the tofu and peanut butter (I used the freshly ground peanuts from Whole Foods) make it satisfying. With the cup of peanut butter, it's not the lowest fat and calorie soup but it is worth a little indulgence. I would happily make it again.

I am linking it up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is our Monthly Featured Dish/Ingredient Challenge: One Pot Meals.

We have two dishes waiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week, let's have a look!

Jaxx at The Bearded Hiker joins me this week with a Corn & Potato Chowder that can be made on the stove top or the pressure cooker. He says, "In this digital world, I still keep my tried and true, most beloved recipes in a recipe box. In this box is loads of goodness and it’s also where I came across my old friend, corn and potato chowder. ...this is a perfect, light soup for those cold winter days.  Pair with a great big salad and you’ve got gold!"

 
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared a restaurant Taco Salad she ended up disappointed in. She said, "...I was craving a taco salad so we went to one of our favorite restaurants.  We hadn't been there in a while so I ordered the taco salad I wanted but failed to read over the new menu carefully. Last time it came in an edible bowl but this time it was far too much lettuce and no bowl.  All plated up instead.  While it was good with a choice of beef, chicken or black beans (I opted for black beans) it left me wanting the tortilla chips or tortilla bowl."

Thanks for joining me Tina and Jaxx!

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 
Have a happy, healthy week!