Just when I think I have explored every part of the produce section, I find something new to try. This time, it was bok choy.
Bok choy, according to the Food Literacy Center website, is considered the oldest green in China, harkening back to the fifth century.
It is sometimes referred to as “Chinese cabbage,” and if you’re unfamiliar with it, that’s probably the best description I could give. Flavor wise, it’s kind of like a less intense green cabbage.
I absolutely loved it, and it added some brightness to the fabulous soup I’m sharing with you this week.
This comes from the awesome food blog “Gimme Some Oven.” You can find the original post at https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/potsticker-soup-recipe/. I put extra garlic in my version and used regular bok choy instead of baby bok choy, since that’s what I could find locally.
Potsticker Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces baby bella or shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 5 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger minced
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- about 20 ounces frozen potstickers
- 1 bunch bok choy roughly chopped to spoon-sized pieces
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot or Dutch oven.
- Saute the mushrooms and green onions until they are softened, and then add the ginger and garlic. Saute for another couple of minutes until the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant, and pour in the vegetable broth and soy sauce scraping the bottom of the pot to incorporate any stuck-on bits.
- Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the potstickers and bok choy, and stir to combine. Let everything boil, stirring occasionally, for about four or five minutes until the potstickers are heated through and the bok choy is cooked to your liking.
- Turn the heat to low and add sesame oil and pepper. Be sure to taste the broth before adding salt.
- To serve, this soup can be garnished with a variety of goodies. We used sesame seeds, soft-boiled eggs and chili crisp in ours.
This was so, so good. We really enjoyed this and decided that this must go into our regular rotation for quick, cold-weather meals. Despite using frozen potstickers, this felt completely homemade, with lots of delicious Asian flavors. It was a really hearty soup, too, with plenty of veggies to fill us up.
I made soft-boiled eggs to go in our bowls, and that added a creamy component that we really enjoyed.
Plus, I can mark a new vegetable off my list. I’m guessing those fifth century farmers never imagined the new veggie in their gardens would be enjoyed over 1,000 years later and 7,000 miles away, but whoever they were, I’m a big fan of their work.
This piece first appeared in print Feb. 20, 2025.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
