Miso Sick Soup

Our family caught some kind of virus right after Christmas and we seem to just keep passing it around. Lots of congestion, coughing, aches, that sort of thing. I concocted a soup to help with some of the symptoms, for a paper I had written for one of my classes, and it works fairly well- plus being delicious.

I start off with a nice chicken broth- home made would be best, but sometimes I opt for an organic store bought, or if I'm in a pinch, I keep a natural paste bouillon in the fridge. I get that heating in a pan on the stove, and add in a few dried shiitake mushrooms that I get from my local Asian market. While those are softening in the broth, I grate in some fresh ginger root and some fresh garlic cloves. I add in some red chili flakes and miso and let it warm over low heat. 

Once my mushrooms have softened, I scoop them out into my bowl to cool a bit before snipping them into little slices with my kitchen shears. Somehow I really enjoy this process- I don't know why. Once they are all sliced, I add them back in to my warm broth and put in a few pinches of my dried wakame seaweed. The little dried pieces swell quite a bit in the broth, so no need to go crazy with them. 

I chop up some toppings, and these change every time. Today I had some cilantro and green onion, sometimes I put in chrysanthemum leaves, or you could even add some noodles or chicken if you like. (I'd actually like to try putting burdock or some of my new dried astragalus in there.) The very last step before eating is to drizzle a tiny bit of toasted sesame oil on top. It is designed to get your nose running, so grab some tissues! 

2c. Chicken Broth

4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms

1-2t. grated fresh ginger (peeling is optional)

1-2 fresh garlic cloves, grated

1/4-1/2t. red chili flakes (to taste)

2T miso of your choosing- I use a chickpea miso

1T wakame flakes

2T cilantro, chopped, or other greens

1T. green onion, sliced

~Here is an excerpt from my paper explaining why I chose the ingredients I did in order to help with certain symptoms and to help with supporting the immune system. It's just a snapshot since I was taking  forms of Eastern medicine into consideration plus the vitamins and minerals that they contained- also keeping in mind the body processes that would benefit from them. 

Miso- trace amounts of B12, warming, source of protein, digestive aid

Organic chicken broth- folk remedy “Jewish Penicillin”, anti-inflammatory

Ginger- mucolytic, analgesic for sore throat, warming, calms stomach, anti-inflammatory

Chili- warming, thins mucus, vasodilator

Garlic- expectorant, antibacterial, anti-fungal

Shiitake- antiviral, dispels phlegm, immune support

Wakame- trace minerals, regulates excess mucus

Cilantro- diaphoretic, aids digestion, helps with nausea, cough, and headache

Chrysanthemum greens- helps liver and kidneys, increases chi

Onion- warming, helps blood and chi circulation, disperses cold, helps detoxify

Sesame oil- good source of vitamin E, antioxidant