18. Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup

18. Hot and Sour Vegetable Soup: Sauté chopped onions and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Add chopped or shredded carrots, cabbage, and daikon or turnip, frozen corn, chopped boxed tomatoes with their juice and stock to cover; bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, then finish with about a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar per 2 cups of soup and loads of black pepper.”
Soup warms the belly like very little else.  This one, with the copious quantities of black pepper and the inevitable sour burn of the rice vinegar, promised a cauldron of comfort.  Quantities listed here make enough for two large bowls – quite enough for a deep December lunch.
2 TB vegetable oil
¼ large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot
½ medium turnip
8 napa cabbage leaves
½ cup frozen corn kernels
14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 TB rice vinegar
½ tsp salt
½ pepper to start – add more to your liking
Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until the onions just begin to pick up color.
Meanwhile (or beforehand, if you are not speedy with your vegetable prep), peel the carrot and turnip.  Once you have disposed of the scraps, continue to peel the carrot into thin strips with your vegetable peeler.  Cut the pile of ribbons in half or in quarters to create bite-sized pieces.
Cut the turnip in half from root to tip, then crosswise into thin slices.  Julienne each thin slice so you have slim matchstick pieces.
Stack the napa cabbage leaves, then roll into a thick cigar and slice as thinly as possible.
Add the vegetables to the onion and garlic.
Add the corn kernels and the broth and simmer the whole pot for 15-20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender and everything is warmed through.
Add the rice vinegar, salt, and pepper, stir gently, and serve.
I loved everything about this soup except the tomatoes.  They weren’t a bad addition, there were just too many of them.  Were I making this again, I might decrease the quantity, or just drain the can and add only the liquid for the color and acidity.  The strings of carrot and turnip kept a minimal bite, and the combination of vinegar and pepper was near perfect.  The puckering sourness played against and contributed to the bland crunch of the vegetables, and alongside a hastily prepared hunk of garlic toast, this was a satisfying lunch on a chill day: it was heat, and comfort, where both were needed.