Snappy Snow Pea Soup

Here’s a soup that’s fast and easy to make. It depends almost entirely on the flavor of the fresh snow pea, one of nature’s great vegetables. Add firm Japanese silken tofu to make a complete protein soup if you like soybean products. For a complete meal, serve this before a entrée of vegetable tempura. Read Dave DeWitt's entire spicy spring soup article here.

Ingredients

6 cups Vibrant Vegetable Stock (see recipe here) or substitute your favorite stock
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons minced scallion
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped watercress
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 cups snow peas cut diagonally
3 lemons, sliced thinly
Asian hot sauce, such as Sriracha, to taste

Instructions

In a pan, combine the water, sugar, parsley, garlic, scallion, soy sauce, ginger, and pepper and boil for 5 minutes. Add the watercress, cilantro, and snow peas and boil 3 more minutes. Transfer the soup to bowls, add the hot sauce to taste, and float the lemon wheels for garnish.