Hungry Girl (17 page)

Spritz shrimp and asparagus with a light mist of nonstick spray and place pan
in the oven for about 6 minutes, until shrimp are opaque and cooked through.

Remove shrimp from the pan and set aside. Flip asparagus over and cook for an additional 6 minutes.

Remove asparagus from the oven and cut asparagus and shrimp into bite-sized pieces.

In a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray, cook bell peppers, scallions, corn, and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add broth and potato and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes or until potato begins to soften.

Add milk, shrimp, asparagus, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Ingredients

3 cups fat-free chicken broth

14 ounces medium-firm tofu, drained and cut into ¼-inch strips

One 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained and diced

2 cups whole mushrooms

½ cup chopped scallions

¼ cup egg whites (about 2 egg whites)

¼ cup rice vinegar

1½ tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon light or low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon hot chili paste

½ teaspoon black pepper

Optional: additional hot chili paste

Directions

Place mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover them with hot water. Cover the bowl and let stand for 10 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

Drain the water from the bowl, dice mushrooms, and set aside.

In a large pot, combine broth with garlic and ¼ cup of water. Bring to a boil. Add
mushrooms and water chestnuts, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add tofu, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Combine cornstarch with ¼ cup of cold water and stir well, until cornstarch dissolves. Add cornstarch mixture to the broth mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently.

Slowly pour egg whites into broth mixture in a steady stream, stirring constantly but gently with a spoon.

Remove from heat and stir in scallions, sesame oil, and chili paste. For super-spicy soup, add more chili paste to taste.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

CHEW ON THIS:

This soup was created by my friend Kazu (the greatest sushi chef on the planet). He serves it at his restaurant in Studio City, California. After eating this soup several times a week for years, I decided it was too delicious to
NOT
tell the world about it, and I convinced Kazu to share his secret recipe with me. Here it is. Some of the ingredients are a bit hard to find, but PLEASE FIND THEM, AND MAKE THIS SOUP SOON!!!

Ingredients

5 ounces cooked cocktail (medium-small) shrimp

½ cup udon noodle soup base concentrate (found at Japanese markets)

2 cups peeled and cubed eggplant (1-inch cubes), use Japanese eggplant if available

1 fresh Anaheim or banana pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, chopped

Directions

In a medium pot, combine soup base with 3½ cups of water and bring to a boil.

Add all the veggies, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Then add the shrimp to the soup. Cook for another 2 minutes or until shrimp are thoroughly heated.

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

Not to sound like a cheesy commercial, but this soup is so thick, it "eats like a meal." It's almost too easy to prepare a super-sized batch, and it tastes even better the next day! (HG Tip: Freeze leftovers in individual servings for microwavable, super-filling, guilt-free snacks!)