Super-Nourishing Veggie Stock
Here’s a recipe for a super Qi and Blood nourishing vegetarian stock. I’ve written before about the benefits of nourishing meat stock but I was recently asked what a good non-meat alternative would be, so here’s my answer!
A lot of vegetable stocks are quite light, but if you’re wanting to get the maximum strengthening tonic effect you need to pile in the veggies and herbs to get a darker, richer stock, as you’ll see in this recipe.
INGREDIENTS – For each liter of water
1 large carrot
1 stick of celery
1 onion
1 clove of galric
5-10g dried mushrooms*
A small bunch each of parsley, sage and thyme
1 slice of root ginger
2 prunes (OR 3-4 jujube Chinese dates)*
1 bay leaf
The method couldn’t be simpler – roughly chop the veg, and add the whole lot to a pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30-45 mins. Strain, and then use the stock in any kind of soup, stew, casserole etc. It also freezes well, so you can make larger amounts at a time and put some away for future use.
*notes: Dried mushrooms really add body and depth to a veggie stock. you can use any kind, but I prefer dried shitake mushrooms. They are also the cheapest way of doing it – you can get good sized bags quite reasonably priced from Chinese or Asian supermarkets. The prunes also help to add body and a touch of sweetness, and help to balance out any bitter flavour from the herbs. You can substitute Chinese jujube for the same effect.
Energetics: This is a Warming Qi (and to a lesser extent, Blood) tonic stock