Uffda “KITCHEN SINK” SOUP

BY IZZY WYCHOR

ingredients:

Use what you have, as much or as little as desired, hence the title — just not the actual kitchen sink.

Protein: tofu, egg, shrimp, chicken, beef, turkey, pork

Veggies: peppers, carrots, snap peas, onion (red, yellow or green), mushrooms, edamame, kale, spinach, celery, corn, peas, bok choy any vegetable, really

Noodles: ramen, udon, lo mein, spaghetti, veggie spirals

Broth: chicken broth, beef broth, miso broth, water and ramen seasoning, and/or Uffda Sauce ingredients (see recipe on the right)

Herbs and Spices: garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, ginger, sesame seeds, cilantro

Living your Best Life Extras: chow mein noodles, fried wonton wrappers, water chestnuts, side of egg rolls the options are endless uffda sauce ingredients:

This recipe is based on one serving, and can be altered to taste. If you like sweet, use more brown sugar or sesame oil, if you want to clear out your sinuses, dial up the hot chili paste or garlic.

3-4 tablespoons soy sauce

1-2 teaspoons sesame oil

2-3 teaspoons ground ginger

Minced garlic (It always says "two cloves;" I put 2 giant spoon fulls I'm not gonna tell you how to live.)

2 teaspoons hot chili paste (sambal oelek)

2 teaspoons mirin (or white wine)

½ tablespoons light brown sugar directions:

Cook protein choice (or take out leftovers).

Chop up all your goodies. If you're going to boil noodles, bring water to a boil. If you're doing ramen in the microwave, find the bowl you're going to use to heat that up, follow package instructions. Cook egg to preference in a separate pan. Heat a frying pan to medium.

Once your fry pan is hot, add a drizzle of olive oil and add veggies (minus kale or spinach) and cook for 3-4 minutes. Start to add Uffda Sauce ingredients. After veggies have cooked down a bit, and sauce has started to thicken, lower heat and add in protein (minus the egg option).

If using Ramen, this is when you pop it in the microwave, or start cooking your noodles and warming up your broth choice. If you're going to add kale or spinach, this is a good time to put it in the bowl you're going to use for serving.

Dump time: After things finish up noodles cooked, protein and veggies with sauce are at a low simmer, and broth heated/ramen done this is when you put it all in your bowl. Top with sesame seeds or other extras. Sit, slurp, smile.

Izzy Wychor is a speechlanguage pathologist, certified personal trainer, and recipe lover, who owns and operates The Uffda Co., a health and wellness company based in Moorhead. Check them out at theuffdaco.com.