Recently, I was sent the latest cook book from nutritionist and author, Fiona Kirk, Soup Can Make You Thin: The Cookbook. Co-authored by Jean Barr, it contains fifty low-fat soup recipes, just perfect for the end of the summer holidays, which I confess have been filled with a few too many heavy meals and indulgent desserts.
This delicious recipe for low-fat Chinese soup with little gem and chicken/tofu is really easy to make and insanely tasty too. Chopping the fresh ginger, spring onions and garlic was enough to get my tastebuds going, but the taste of the finished dish is just wonderful and it’s so warm, filling and refreshing – you’d never guess it was a ‘diet soup’.
According to the author:
Asian-style soups have been ‘current’ for some time now in the West and with good reason. Variations of soups which have been staples for centuries in Eastern cultures offer top notch nourishment, principally because they focus on health-giving ingredients which feed brain and body, are lightly cooked to retain their freshness and if you ask anyone who has grown up in an Asian household they will tell you that soups and broths are not considered a ‘maybe’, they are a ‘must’ for good health and well-being for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a light snack.
Here’s what to do to make this delicious Chinese soup – serves four.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- 6-8 spring onions, white part very finely sliced, green part sliced into 1cm pieces
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely sliced or crushed
- 2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced or grated
- 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
- 300g (10.6 oz) silken tofu, cubed
- 1 small red pepper, deseeded and very finely diced
- 2 little gem lettuce, shredded
- 1 teaspoon Tamari or light soy sauce
- Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a soup pot, add the white part of the spring onion, the garlic and the ginger and saute gently for 10 minutes or until the onions are soft (don’t let them brown).
- Add three quarters of the stock, bring slowly to the boil, reduce the heat then add the chicken and/or tofu, red pepper, the green part of the spring onion, the lettuce and the Tamari/soy sauce.
- Stir well and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes.
- Add the remainder of the stock if you like it more ‘liquid’, taste and season if required before serving.
Soup Can Make You Thin: The Cookbook is available from Amazon priced at £12.99. It also contains a soup diet that you can follow to shed pounds, though I must confess I couldn’t go without a big plate of pasta for more than a week!
What do you think of this Chinese soup recipe?
Here’s that Chinese soup recipe again in an easy to print format.
Chinese soup with little gem and tofu
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 6 spring onions white part very finely sliced, green part sliced into 1cm pieces
- 2 cloves garlic finely sliced
- 2 cm fresh ginger grated
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 300 g (10.6 oz) silken tofu cubed
- 1 small red pepper deseeded and very finely diced
- 2 little gem lettuce shredded
- 1 tsp Tamari or light soy sauce
- 1 pinch Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
- Warm the oil in a soup pot, add the white part of the spring onion, the garlic and the ginger and saute gently for 10 minutes or until the onions are soft (don’t let them brown).
- Add three quarters of the stock, bring slowly to the boil, reduce the heat then add the chicken and/or tofu, red pepper, the green part of the spring onion, the lettuce and the Tamari/soy sauce.
- Stir well and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes.
- Add the remainder of the stock if you like it more ‘liquid’, taste and season if required before serving.
Nutrition
Disclosure: we were sent Soup Can Make You Thin: The Cookbook for review. No payment was received. All posts are 100% honest.
More recipes to try
For more delicious soup recipes, try these!
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Emma @mummymummymum says
That looks amazing Emily. I am determind to take the time to make soups and stews on the weekends this winter to save time in the week.
Deena Kakaya says
I’m a big fan of Asian soups and always looking for twists to keep us all amused…I can smell this one from my bed! X
Actually Mummy... says
I’m going to try this. I’m looking for vegetarian/vegan/carb-free recipes and they’re thin on the ground. It sounds perfect