We’ve been having a big season for greens in our garden this winter, and they have all been loving the rain that California has been getting this year.  We always grow bok choy in our greens rotation, mostly because it’s easy and fun to grow.  It grows big, delicious heads in about 30-40 days, which is fast in the gardening world (almost instant gratification!).  We always get sizeable harvests out of a small planting, and we usually plant a couple of rounds per season to keep it coming.  Of course, these big harvests become a lot of food to eat – and that’s where this soup comes in.

This soup has been on my lunch rotation all winter, and I honestly don’t plan on stopping (mostly because I have more bok choy to eat!).  It’s a super simple soup that is light but flavorful, and it comes together in minutes.  It is perfect for meal prep, and the recipe I wrote below is the size I make for meal prep (enough for about 4 big servings).  This soup is truly as simple as sautéing some aromatics, roughly chopping some bok choy and cubing some tofu, and boiling it all together in some chicken broth.  Easy, delicious, and makes a lot – a perfect meal prep recipe!

This recipe is totally customizable if you want to add more to it, but honestly, I like the simplicity of the base recipe provided below.  Feel free to add noodles or ramen to bulk it up, or frozen dumplings if you are looking for something more filling.  Sometimes I top this with chili crisp if I’m looking for some extra spice.  If you want to make this more of a pho profile, feel free to add fresh cilantro, Thai basil, and a squeeze of lime to your bowl before serving.  Any of your favorite Asian-style soup condiments will work here – customize it and make this your own, or try different flavors and toppings every day!

Recipe down below, photo up top (I added a little chili crisp in my photo, highly recommend you do the same)!  This recipe makes a big batch (at least enough for 4 big servings), and this soup stores well in the fridge for up to 1 week for meal prep purposes.

Bok Choy and Tofu Soup

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large heads of bok choy, washed and roughly chopped
  • Sub for 6-8 heads of baby bok choy, roughly chopped
• 1 block (16 oz) firm tofu, drained and diced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 quart of chicken stock
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 2-3 scallions, sliced into rounds
• 1 inch piece of ginger, finely grated

Method:

1. Add the oil to a large pot (big enough to hold all of the soup), and heat over medium-high heat until warmed through, about 30-60 seconds.
2. When the oil is warm, add the chopped garlic, sliced scallions, and grated ginger.  Stir to combine, and continue cooking over medium high heat until the scallions are transparent and everything is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes stirring constantly.
3. Once the aromatics are fragrant, add the chicken broth to the pot, stir to combine.  Continue to cook over medium high heat until the stock comes to a boil.
4. While you are waiting for the stock to come to a boil, roughly chop the bok choy and drain and cube the tofu.  When the stock is boiling, gently add the tofu and bok coy, and gently stir to combine.
5. Allow everything to come back up to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer.  Simmer for about 5 minutes until the bok choy has wilted and becomes tender, and the tofu has heated all the way through.
6. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.  Allow to cool slightly before packing and refrigerating any leftovers.
7. Enjoy!