Comments on: Bok Choy Soup

By: David

David — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 20:15:50 +0000

Very, very good! And very spicy! (Which I love but my wife does not.) This was my first exposure to zha cai. (I bought it from Amazon.) It added an exotic spiciness to the dish. I’ve already made it twice!

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 01:22:08 +0000

Great simple recipe. Made this tonight and it was surprisingly tasty for such simple ingredients.So far your recipes are simple and flavorful. I like that. My wife is Chinese I am not but I love tasty food. She thought this was a Wuxi recipe.

By: Maggie Zhu

Maggie Zhu — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 14:09:59 +0000

In reply to Curious Cook. It depends on the type of zha cai you got. Usually the stuff comes in the package does not require rinsing and soaking. If you buy it from bulk, you can rinse them. But you don't need to soak it because the salt will be released into the soup to season it. You might consider a low-sodium broth just in case the zha cai is on the saltier side.

By: Curious Cook

Curious Cook — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 02:16:58 +0000

I’m keen to try this recipe and I found the zha cai at the Asian grocer’s. I read that it is usual to prepare it by rinsing and soaking – is that required for this recipe? Thanks for your help!

By: Bad Kitty

Bad Kitty — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 03:08:09 +0000

It’s a cold, rainy, soup kind of day today, and when this recipe came up in my search, I knew this is IT. I thought I had bok choy, but forgot that I had used it all for a different meal. I substituted with a small head of napa cabbage, which worked great. I grated the ginger on a microplane, added sliced white button and baby bella mushrooms, a dash of chili oil for a nice little kick, sliced shrimp cake for some protein, and a couple tablespoons of fish sauce to taste, served over Vietnamese banh canh noodles. I loved the undertones of the ginger. What a versatile soup recipe! With my additions, it made for a very hearty, delicious, and filling soup! I will be making this often when I want to use up some veggies. It really hit the spot. Thank you!

By: Marlene

Marlene — Sat, 06 Feb 2021 22:47:49 +0000

I know this sounds crazy but I didn’t have any zha cai but I had bought toy and really, really wanted to make some soup. So I made this recipe and used homemade pickled garlic and a bit of gojucaru. It actually came out great! I look forward to making this the “right” way next time but thank you for the inspiration.

By: Fawn

Fawn — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 20:07:46 +0000

In reply to Cindy. TY for posting this! We have a shellfish allergy in my family and are usually pretty careful but it's nice to be warned ahead of time when we need to take extra precaution on something you wouldn't think you would need it! So because of this post we did search and read all ingredients; we were able to find some without the shrimp, though it ended up being the whole plant (stems and leaves) but was still very good.

By: Fawn

Fawn — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 20:02:48 +0000

I just discovered your website and this was the first dish I made with my family. It was very easy and so good! Thank you for it! I also enjoyed the photos a lot, it made getting the ingredients hassle free (I actually went shopping for 3 of your meals at the same time and it was a lot easier when I had photos for everything!). I’m very excited to try more of your recipes. 🙂

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 00:47:03 +0000

This is such an easy to make recipe. Thank you!
I’ve always wondered how some soups (and a chili oil with black soy beans) have this salty/umami flavor – and now I know! My mom has no idea about this, I dont think her father shared this type of “secret ingredient”.
I was able to find the zha cai , the exact packaging above in my asian grocer – but it listed shrimp in the ingredients. So a warning to those who are vegan – ask about ingredients. I did find one that was labeled vegetarian.
Delish!

By: Maggie

Maggie — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 15:29:46 +0000

In reply to gloria randall.

Hi Gloria, this recipe needs some salty Chinese pickles to make it work. If you happen to have Sui mi ya cai (key ingredient of making dan dan noodles https://themalamarket.com/collections/all/products/yibin-suimiyacai-preserved-mustard-stem?aff=2), that will work too but you will need to use less (1 to 2 tablespoons) because it’s saltier.