Raw Coconut Bok Choy Spicy Soup
It started raining late last night. Liquid silver falling from the sky. Some would say, liquid gold when you take into account the drought we have been having in California. It has been unseasonably warm, and horribly dry. Hills that are normally emerald green this time of year are a dusty brown. People who make their living from the land are in dire straights while every day we look at azure blue skies without a cloud in sight. . .until last night.
The rain finally started to fall. The fresh smelling air drifted in through the windows and a long, soaking rain delighted our ears. It rained all night and we awoke to grey skies, fog, and moisture. The eucalyptus grove that yesterday only offered shade, smelled like nature’s spa as we walked through this morning. It is cold and wet and we are happy.
With the rest of the country still seeing frigid temperatures and snow, while we have damp, cold weather in the Bay area, a batch of soup is just the thing to chase away the chill. You will love this warm, hearty, delicious, healthy raw soup.
Bok choy is the heart of this savory soup. I love bok choy. And I am excited to bring you this bok choy recipe. It is full of nutrients. Wonder where to get calcium? Bok choy has 110 mg per cup. It is also loaded with vitamins C, A and K, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and iron. And did I mention it tastes great?
For this recipe I used baby bok choy. It is tender and has a light sweetness to it. But I didn’t just chop it up and throw it in the soup…I marinated it and tossed it in the dehydrator for a bit. It provided the perfect touch. Marinated mushrooms and a wonderful coconut broth combined with cumin, ginger, turmeric and the bok choy make a healthy soup perfect for this weather. I suggest warming the soup gently on the stove or in the dehydrator to take off the winter chill.
Coconut Soup with Bok Choy
Serves 4
- 4 cups thinly sliced bok choy
- 6 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos
, divided
- 4 tablespoon sesame oil, divided
- 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1 young Thai coconut, meat and liquid
- water (enough to make 2 1/2 cups total liquid when combined with the liquid from the coconut)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped fine
- 1 teaspoon raw chili garlic sauce (recipe here)
- Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
- Toss bok choy with 3 tablespoons Braggs Liquid Aminos and 2 tablespoons sesame oil. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 1 hour.
- Toss mushrooms with remaining braggs, sesame oil and coconut sugar. Let marinate for at least one hour.
- Place coconut flesh, coconut water and water in high-speed blender. Blend until the mixture starts to feel warm.
- Add cumin, turmeric, ginger, raw chili garlic sauce, salt and pepper. Blend until combined.
- Remove to bowl, stir in bok choy and mushrooms. Re-heat gently if desired.
Lu wrote on February 7, 2014
Carol got me curious as to just what a Thai Coconut was so I looked it up, simply a young coconut, not a variety! Here’s a good link for add’l info: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-thai-coconut.htm Definitely a soup I’m making as soon as I can find a coconut around here!
Lesley Lind wrote on February 7, 2014
This sounds heavenly on a cold rainy night! I keep fresh young Thai frozen coconut on hand. Thanks Susan
Catherine Foster wrote on February 7, 2014
This sounds wonderful. I just bought a dehydrator but don’t know how you heat soup in it.
ryan wrote on February 28, 2015
I don’t think she was referring to the dehydrator when she mentioned heating up the soup….the dehydrator is used for drying out the bok choy …. think she meant heating it up a bit on the stove or something similar
Susan wrote on February 28, 2015
You can re-heat the soup in the dehydrator or stove top. If you choose to do it stove top be very careful as the liquid will head to past 118 degrees very quickly. Cheers!
Lucy wrote on February 7, 2014
I am allergic to soy, so i have been using Coconut Secrets aminos in place of Braggs. It always turns out.
Lucy wrote on February 7, 2014
OH Yum!! Looking forward to making this one.
Carol McKenzie wrote on February 7, 2014
Thanks, Susan. I’m willing to give up raw on occasion in exchange for an amazing soup like this.
Susan wrote on February 7, 2014
Carol, you could use coconut milk but it won’t be raw. Cheers!
Cheryl wrote on January 14, 2015
How much coconut milk should be used in place of the Thai coconuts?
Also do you have a nutritional break down with the calories, carbs, protein, fat & sugar content per serving?
Susan wrote on January 15, 2015
Hi, Cheryl, We do not provide nutritional breakdowns. If you do a search, there are a lot of nutritional calculators out there but the accuracy is questionable. Cheers!
Cheryl wrote on January 14, 2015
Also I am confused about the part that you wrote where you say:
“You could put it in the oven at the lowest setting for a bit but you will probably not have a completely raw bok choy if you do it that way. The time would be dramatically reduced but I can’t tell you by how much since I haven’t tested it that way” .
The part I am confused about is “if you put it in the oven you will probably not have a completely raw bok choy.”
I thought dehydration dried food and did not leave it raw. Perhaps it was a typo and the word “not” after the word “probably” should not be there???
thank you
Susan wrote on January 15, 2015
Hi, Cheryl, When dehydrating, if you keep the temperature under 118 degrees, you do not destroy the nutrients and it is still considered raw. So, no, it was not a typo. Cheers!
Carol McKenzie wrote on February 7, 2014
This looks amazing. But…there are no young Thai coconuts where I live. Any suggestions for substitutions?
Shannon Murray wrote on February 7, 2014
Wow, Susan! This looks awesome! And I’m doubly excited because I have everything in my refrigerator right now! (well except the young Thai coconut- but that’s an easy fix!) Thank you for making my weekend delicious and for making it easy to do, too!