Vietnamese-style Napa cabbage soup with shrimp

Last week at the Wednesday Dimond Center Farmers’ Market, Carol Kenley was giving away a free Napa cabbage if you spent $20 at her stand. Needless to say I fulfilled that requirement… and then came home with a GIGANTIC Napa cabbage, on top of the vegetables from her stand, A&M Farms, and Stockwell Farms. Whoops! I’m still digging out from under that mountain of wonderful vegetables!

So… what’s a good way to make quick work of a Napa cabbage? I’d already eaten that great napa cabbage salad with spicy peanut dressing for several meals the previous week… So I invented this quick soup, inspired by a vaguely similar chicken-noodle soup in Cook’s Illustrated from 1999. I left out the noodles entirely (remember, my main goal here was to use up vast quantities of cabbage—not fill up on noodles!), but you can add them if you like. The broth is really flavorful after just 20 minutes of simmering with the Asian ingredients—I think you’ll love it!

I used fresh shrimp from the Saturday South Anchorage Farmers’ Market, but you could substitute any seafood you liked. This will make 4 big bowls of soup.

Optional noodles

8 ounces thick rice noodles

1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Off heat, add noodles, and let sit until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside until ready to distribute among individual serving bowls.

Broth

8-10 cups vegetable broth (low-sodium, if store-bought), or bean-cooking broth (for example, from the hummus recipe)
8 medium cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into 1/8-inch rounds
3 star anise
¼ cup Asian fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. Bring all ingredients to boil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer partially covered for 20 minutes to blend flavors.
2. Strain the broth through a sieve to remove the flavorings and return the broth to the pot. Bring the soup back to a simmer, and season to taste with additional salt if necessary.

Soup

1 pound fresh shrimp, shells removed
1 medium Napa cabbage, rinsed and sliced thin crosswise (about 8 cups)
4 scallions, white and green parts, sliced thin on an angle
½ cup loose-packed fresh mint leaves, torn in half if large
½ cup loose-packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
Lime wedges for squeezing at the table

1. While the broth simmers, remove the shells from the shrimp and chop all the vegetables.
2. When the broth is strained, add the shrimp to the simmering broth and cook them until just tender and cooked, for about 45 seconds. Remove them immediately from the soup with a slotted spoon or strainer.
3. Bring the broth back to a boil and add the cabbage. Cook on high heat for 3-5 minutes, or to your taste. The cabbage should be cooked a little bit, but retain a little crunch.
4. Ladle the cabbage and broth into large soup bowls, add noodles if you’ve decided to use them, and top each serving with a pile of shrimp.
5. Sprinkle on all other ingredients and serve immediately, passing lime wedges separately.