Poached Sole in a Gingery Spice Broth

I’ve been playing with several versions of this soup for a few weeks now, and am liking it very, very much. The version that uses coconut milk tastes vaguely Thai, and the one that uses almond milk tastes kinda hippyish (in a good way). They’re both terrific, and really comforting on all these rainy days we’ve been having. I’ve also been using up the four quarts of crab stock I made recently from the spent shells of a few Dungeness we devoured a few weeks ago, but it’s good with chicken stock and veg stock, too. Haven’t tried water-not-stock version, but I’m betting it will be good, too.

The sweetened ginger leftover from making ginger syrup is so good in this soup — it alone is reason enough to make ginger syrup! You don’t need it, however; sauteed minced ginger in grapeseed oil, along with a little sweetener of choice, is fine too.  For extra credit/extra oomph, dice up some fresh tumeric as well, and toss it in with the ginger.

And do seek out dried persimmons if you can find them; I get mine from the local farmers market, but Chinese and Japanese markets always have them. When they get rehydrated in the soup, they plump up with the essence of the soup, and are just delightful. People have a hard time guessing what it is. Dried persimmons also make a really great salt — just grind in your coffee grinder, and pulse in some sel gris.

This soup takes very little time to assemble and cook, roughly 10 minutes. Just heat the stock, add everything but the fish, and bring to a simmer. Let the green veg cook for a few minutes over low-medium heat, and then add the fish.  Simmer for just a minute or two longer, until it’s barely cooked. Serve in heated bowls with a salad and good bread.*

• chicken stock, vegetable stock, or crab stock
• almond milk or coconut milk
• 1/4 cup sweetened ginger (the dregs of ginger syrup)
• a few wheels of dried persimmon
• pinch of cayenne
• three or four star anise
• splash of apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups Petrale sole (or other white mild fish), chopped roughly
• something green (I like using Chinese broccoli stalks, but anything would work — asparagus, green beans, kale, chard ….)
• cellophane/glass noodles (optional — makes it heartier; it’s cleaner/more elegant without them)
• a little chopped cilantro on top

* For truly artisan breads, Tartine’s country loaf gets my vote for best bread in the bay area, followed closely by the all-grain loaf from Brickmaiden and Della Fattoria’s meyer lemon brea. For nonartisan, La Brea gets the nod for best widely available bread.