All-In-One Soup That's As Easy as ABC

I truly believe, ✋🏻hand on my heart that soups are the true elixr of youth.

It's packed with nutrients, easy to make, its warmth comforting to the tummy and can be paired with a host of main dishes.

Does anyone out there still have the habit of dunking rice into their soup? It's the best way to eat it if you ask me.

Over the years we have been wary about eating too much white rice. Some have made the switch to brown or red rice while some eschew it altogether.

Today I had a sudden inspiration to make my childhood favourite ABC soup with a twist.

My version is created to be a vegan meal but customizable by adding meatballs to infuse an extra dimension to the taste.

Rustic ABC Soup with a Twist (vegan-friendly recipe)

Hah! Let's start different. Traditionally, ABC soup or many well-loved Chinese soups depend heavily on stock.

These meat stock (Chinese predominantly use chicken or pork and combine them with squid or dried scallops for extra dimension and sweetness).

To create a sweet and well-bodied base, I balance sweet and a little bit of earthy spices with aromatics.

First, fry bay leaf, shallots, cardamom pods, fennel and cumin seeds. All these have natural sweetness to them with the exception of cumin seeds that are used to impart the toasty aroma.

Then add onion, garlic cloves and ginger garlic paste.

Now raise the heat. Add carrots and celery. Fry them for about 1-2 minutes.

Now add half a can of chickpeas, cherry tomatoes (or normal tomatoes) and maize.

Stir in two pinches of sea salt, some black pepper and add water that just about covers the ingredients. Simmer for half an hour. That's it!

This is a great vegan recipe but you can choose to dunk other ingredients in it like rice or meatballs to jazz it up.

Recipe serves 2

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes (minimal effort)

Ingredients:

Carrots - 2-3

Celery - 4 stalks

Maize - 6

Cherry tomatoes - 1 cup

Chickpeas - 1 cup

Bay leaf - 1

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cardamom pods - 6

Shallots - 4

Onion - 1

Garlic cloves - 4-5

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Sea salt - 2 pinches

Black pepper - 1 pinch

Meatballs marinade: Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, grounded mixed peppercorn and salt

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