Asian grocery store soup

Yesterday, I felt a headachy, change-of-weather cold sneaking up and wanted to nip it in the bud.

Only one thing would do: Asian grocery store soup.

Well, that's what I call my homemade chicken stock based soup because most of the ingredients that go into it come from an Asian grocer.

Over the weekend, I made a big pot of chicken stock from the carcass of leftover roasted chicken. (Never throw out your carcass - even if you can't make a stock right away. Just put it in a zip-lock freezer bag and toss in the freezer. Keep a separate bag in the freezer to store vegetable trimmings such as onions, celery and carrots.) Whenever you're ready for stock, toss everything into a slow cooker along with a good helping of salt, some peppercorns, a bay leaf or two and maybe a whole clove or two of garlic as well as herbs like parsley and thyme. (This is a good way to use any extra vegetables you have in the vegetable bin.) Cover with cold water and put the lid on the pot. Let it cook on low for about 7 hours. Strain and you'll have the base for soup of the Gods.

There's no real recipe for Asian grocery store soup, but it does require a trip to the store if you don't have the ingredients.

I love shopping Asian grocers. If you're unfamiliar or intimidated by exotic ingredients, I highly recommend a handy paperback called "The Asian Grocery Store Demystified" (Renaissance Books) by Linda Bladholm. She gives descriptions and provides illustrations of the bottles, bags, noodles, vegetables and fruit frequently found in these markets.

I went to Young's Oriental Grocery Store, 2017 Kirkwood Highway in Elsmere, and picked up baby bok choy, gingerroot, fresh snowpeas, rice stick (as thin as angel hair pasta) and miso paste.

I also bought a package of their own kim chee - look for this spicy Korean pickled cabbage in the back of the store packed in clear plastic containers - to eat later in the week along with a stir-fry. Some of the other containers looked really good - I definitely have come back and try the spicy pork shoulder soon.

When I got home, I chopped fresh ginger and some garlic and tossed it in the bottom of a pot, lightly filmed with canola oil, that was set over medium heat. Cook just until you can smell the garlic and ginger aromas, but do not brown. Then I added a small scoop of miso and whisked it around the pan as I added the chicken stock. Whisk until the miso dissolves. (The miso is optional.)

This is where creativity comes into play. I also added a splash of soy sauce and a couple drips of fish sauce - Three Crabs brands - because I like it, but some people may be turned off by the pungent odor. (A little rice vinegar or mirin is even good.)

Turn the heat up to high. Next, thinly sliced carrots went into the pot and when the stock began to boil, I slipped in the rice stick, which are dry, thin and brittle semi-transparent noodles that turn opaque white after cooking. (NOTE: You can cook the noodles separately, if you want a more brothy soup. The noodles will absorb some of the liquid as they cook and they will cloud the stock, but not affect the taste. It's up to you. I'm lazy and don't feel like cleaning up more than one pot. I also use thin noodles because they cook faster. Sloth is thy name.)

Cook until the noodles are al dente - only a few minutes - and then toss in the chopped baby bok choy, snow peas - no need to chop them - and sliced mushrooms. Cook a few minutes more - just until vegetables are crisp tender.

If you want a protein, add raw, peeled shrimp along with the vegetables and cook until the shrimp turns pink, about 3-4 minutes at the most.

Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with sliced scallions and, maybe, a handful of fresh mung bean sprouts. Eat with a spoon and chopsticks.

If you wanted some added spice, pass around a bottle of Sriacha sauce - the spicy Thai condiment that looks like ketchup - and squeeze some on the top. Enjoy.