I got this recipe from a friend, and my friend got it from her friend’s friend, who is a dietitian. Strictly speaking it is not a recipe; rather, an idea for adding more flavors and nutrients to a vegetable soup containing common ingredients as celery, carrot, and onion.
The idea is simply to add cashew nuts to the soup. But driven by my habit, I included bay leaves, black peppers and garlic to spice up the soup. From the very first time hubby and I ate the soup, we had enjoyed it very much. Yet I have to thank and tell the ladies that the soup has become a regular dish on our table since then.
We first ate the soup on its own, then I also had it used as a stock, and even as a broth for noodles. The noodle soup I recently cooked for myself was made with some leftovers of this soup, a bunch of chopped coriander, and a few pieces of tofu, which were pan-fried with crisp crusts and served with a dollop of chili sauce. I might have doubt whether or not the dish, having such flavors and textures, was vegetarian if I had not made it myself.
I don’t even need to add any oil to boiling the wheat noodles to make them smooth because the cashew nuts have already greased (and flavored) the soup lightly after hours of boil. Yet in that 5 to 6 hours, it was my slow cooker did the whole task after I dumped in all ingredients.
- Ingredients
- 500g celery (stalks), cleaned and sliced crosswise
- 250g carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 1 onion, skinned, thinly sliced lengthwise
- ~60g cashew nuts
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4-5 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
- 2-3 slices ginger
- 1/2 tsp black peppers, crushed
- ~6 cups of water
- 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper, or to taste
- a bunch of coriander, optional
- salt to taste
Method
Put all ingredients, except coriander, coarse black pepper and salt, in a slow-cooker (mine is a 180W), pour in about 6 cups of water, covered. Using high heat, boil for 5 to 6 hours until the vegetables are very tender and the broth is fragrant. Add chopped coriander, if using.
Add salt and coarse black pepper to taste.
Serve hot (with or without the boiled vegetables and/or noodles). If you like eating the very tender celery slices too, then you may want to skin (or peel) the stalks, or ribs, to remove the tough fibre before slicing.
Enjoy!
- Category: Featured . Nut and Seed . Vegetable .
- 19 comments
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The broth looks deliciously light-tasting and healthy. This is a great meatless one-dish meal with the wheat noodles.
Your homemade broth sounds incredibly delish. Thanks for sharing it.
Hope your’e enjoying your evening.
Kristy
Certainly I like the tip of adding cashew nuts for the natural oils….I will try this. I enjoy such a meal, always.
Definitely a soup after my heart. I would love to have the soup with some tofu…that would be marvelous.
A lovely and soothing dish I would say. The soup is clear and refreshing looking!
I love light and simple noodle soup such as yours. The use of cashew nuts in the vegetarian broth is just brilliant. The noodle soup definitely makes it a great weekend night meal!
why I am so excited when reading this recipe.? a vegetarian will comprehend :} Thank you tastehongkong.
@Pat,
You are welcome! Be my guest to enjoy these vegetarian recipes too:
– a soup
– a spicy dish
– a stir-fry
– a drink
My favorite kind of recipes are those that aren’t really recipes at all. I enjoy the flexibility and there is so much room for creativity here. It looks delicious!
I will definitely try this !! 🙂
I’ve never had cashew soup before … sounds amazing!
You are very kind.. many thanks.! love your recipes..
@Pat,
You are welcome! Just enjoy, and have fun cooking.
This is my kinda soup for a quick and tasty lunch.
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Hello, can I use fresh bay leave instead?
@yi xuan,
The flavor of the dried bay leaves was very subtle here, so I didn’t have to worry if it (as a broth) would overpower my noodles. With fresh bay leaves, which should give you a heavier flavor, you may want to check the taste of the soup early during the cooking to decide whether or not you would like to remove it.
Hi, I cooked this soup twice already. It is really tasty and light and nobody guessed it is just pure vegetables! Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
@Alison,
Thanks for your feedback! This soup indeed is a keeper : ).
[…] Recipe credits to Taste Hong Kong […]