Bok Choy Soup ~ Warming and Wonderful

My husband loves this soup, me too. This recipe is easy breezy and comes together quickly after the chopping is done. I especially love using the baby bok choy when I can find it, (that means a trip out of town!). Small to medium shrimp are perfect for this recipe. If you have giant shrimp, cut them in half....tastes just as good! Mmmmm...

Bok Choy Soup

Adapted from Rachel Ray
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves 4


3 tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (to taste if you like it hot)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches ginger root, peeled and grated (use your microplane grater)
1/2 lb. shitake mushroom caps, sliced (a couple of cups, less is okay, as they are dear)
1 medium bok choy or 3-4 baby bok choy, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces, then cut into
sticks lengthwise
Salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken broth
1 8oz. bottle clam juice
1-1/2 lbs. medium peeled and deveined shrimp ( I cut my shrimp in half, as I like a bite of shrimp in every spoonful) If frozen, I run the shrimp under cool water to thaw just before adding to the broth
1/2 lb spaghetti (cooked, drained and cut into smaller pieces)
3 scallions, cut into 3 inch pieces, then shredded lengthwise into thin slices
lime and cilantro to garnish if desired

This recipe originally called for cooking the spaghetti in the soup, actually, it called for using vermicelli, but  I found it worked better to use and cook regular spaghetti separately, run a knife through the noodles to make them spoon-size and then mix the broth and pasta in the bowl right before serving. Keep them separate as leftovers as well, or the spaghetti will absorb all the broth and get mushy.

Cook spaghetti al dente, drain, (do not rinse) sprinkle with a little olive oil to keep noodles from sticking, cut into smaller pieces, cover and set aside.
Heat a 6 qt soup pot over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, mushrooms and bok choy, then season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Add shrimp and cook 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook! Add in scallions and cook 2-3 minutes more.
Fill soup bowl with noodles, spoon soup over the top, finish with more scallions or a squeeze of lime and some cilantro.

This has so many nice layers of flavor and I think you will like the "heartiness" of the larger noodles.
Enjoy!