Kimchi Soup

Vanesa Georgieva Hot meals

Kimchi Soup

A wonderful kimchi soup inspired by a bowl of fiesty, fiery, brothy cabbage soup I had years ago at Namu Gaji in San Francisco.

kimchi soup

There is a kimchi soup I had stuck in my mind for years. I encountered it at Namu Gaji, a lively, welcoming, neighborhood spot run by the three (Dennis, Daniel, and David) Lee Brothers. The restaurant was situated diagonally across from Dolores Park in San Francisco, and was the perfect place to settle in along the street-facing bank of windows to chat and people-watch over sizzling okonomiyaki or a fiery stonepot of market vegetables. I would see the Namu Gaji crew often at the Saturday morning farmer's market, shopping for ingredients or feeding market-goers from their Namu stall. Lots of heart on all fronts.

Kimchi Soup: The Inspiration

The soup - I don't remember it being on the menu, although it could have been. I simply remember chatting about soup with one of the waitstaff there and shortly thereafter a bowl of fire-brothed magic appeared. It was a cabbage soup, but feisty and invigorating with lots of spice. You could see the flecks of red throughout, and the broth had little pools of spicy goodness suspended on top. I remember thinking to myself, it was as if someone had brothed out some amazing kimchi and called it a day - deceptively simple, in the best way possible.

This is what I was attempting to channel when I stepped into the kitchen to prepare today's recipe. I added mushrooms and tofu, broccoli, and some other tasty flare to make a substantial one-pot meal of it - feel free to use as many, or as few, of the suggested toppings as you like. 

Suggested Toppings and Ingredients

  • roasted cherry tomatoes
  • scallions
  • sautéed or roasted mushrooms
  • green onions
  • furikake or sesame seeds
  • fresh lemon or lime juice
    A little side note, if you enjoy making soups as much as I do, you'll want to start making your own homemade bouillon powder. So easy, and nice to keep on hand!

Spicy Chickpea Pasta Bowls

Vanesa Georgieva Hot meals

Spicy Chickpea Pasta Bowls

A colorful pasta bowl bonanza featuring a glossy, smooth chickpea harissa sauce and loads of crunchy cucumbers, cashews and fried onions. The definition of a vibrant, exciting one-bowl meal!

spicy chickpea pasta

On every front, these spicy chickpea pasta bowls have a lot going on. I keep notebooks of everything I cook worth remembering. And this is a page I keep turning back to. Here’s how it goes. While you’re waiting for a big pot of pasta to come to a boil, puree a quick, intensely flavorful sauce of harissa, egg yolks, lemon, chickpeas, and olive oil. Fold the sauce into your cooked pasta (over heat) and stir until everything is coated and glossy. Chopped cucumber and cilantro is incorporated next, and everything is finished with toasted cashews, crispy fried onions, and feta cheese. So good served in individual bowls or family-style as you see pictured here.

Spicy Chickpea Pasta Bowls: Ingredient Notes

  • Harissa: This is the one I’ve been using - a rose harissa. I bought a jar when I had lunch at Mayfield a while ago, and never looked back. Use whatever harissa you like enough to keep on hand.

  • Pasta: I’ve cooked variations on this recipe with a range of pastas and noodles, and have some thoughts. Short, sturdy dried pastas work best. They stand up to the stirring and mixing that happens as you’re coating the pasta with the sauce better. Fresh pastas are a lot harder to get right here, and the whole situation can get, I dunno, gloopier. It still tastes delicious, but the dried pastas are easier. You can see a version I made with fresh ramen noodles (pictured below), it was good - but was more challenging to keep clump-free. Good results have happened with: penne, ziti, reginatti, and the paccheri you see in the photos.

  • Feta: I tend to like sheep’s milk feta, and prefer the kind sold in blocks. This allows you to break off different sized bits and pieces versus pre-crumbled feta.

    The Sauce

    You can see what the sauce looks like in the photo below. There are just a few ingredients that you puree. I find the easiest for clean-up is to use a hand blender, but you can use a standard blender or food processor if that is what you have in your kitchen.

    Variations

    This is the sort of meal that begs to be adapted to whatever you have on hand. My initial inspiration was actually a photo I saw of an Ottolenghi ramen dish made with tuna and gochujang. I loved all the colors and the overall ingredient mash-up, but as a vegetarian tuna isn’t in my cooking palette. That said, I was still inspired, and used the overall vibe as a jumping off point - incorporating chickpeas and other ingredients I had on hand. I’d encourage you to do the same! For example, play around with another herb - basil is amazing, dill could be interesting. I'm going to a version next week using roasted broccoli and delicata squash in place of the cucumber. Anyway, have fun and let me know how it goes!