Clear Soup with Bok Choy and Green Onion (Sumashijiru)
すまし汁（チンゲン菜・ねぎ) · Sumashijiru
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Sumashijiru is the clear cousin of miso soup: a bowl of dashi seasoned with just a little soy sauce and salt, so the flavor of the stock and the vegetables comes through. In this version the green onion simmers slowly until it turns soft and sweet, and the bok choy is boiled separately and added at the end so it keeps its bright green color and tender bite. It is a mild, easy-to-sip soup that pairs well with almost any Japanese main dish, and one that even very young children can enjoy.
Wheat-free, but uses soy sauce (made with wheat). Japanese school-lunch allergy menus usually allow it, so check with your doctor. How to read the labels
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 18 gbok choy
- 7.5 ggreen onion (naga negi)Japanese long onion, thicker and milder than Western scallions. Substitute: Scallions or the white part of a leek.
Seasonings
- 150 gdashi stockJapanese soup stock, usually made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or bonito flakes; the base of most Japanese soups and simmered dishes. Substitute: Instant dashi granules dissolved in water, or a mild unsalted chicken or vegetable stock.
- 0.8 gsoy sauce
- 0.2 gsalt
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- green onion (naga negi) (ねぎ)
- Japanese long onion, thicker and milder than Western scallions. Substitute: Scallions or the white part of a leek.
- dashi stock (だし汁)
- Japanese soup stock, usually made from kombu (dried kelp) and/or bonito flakes; the base of most Japanese soups and simmered dishes. Substitute: Instant dashi granules dissolved in water, or a mild unsalted chicken or vegetable stock.
Directions
- 1
Cut the bok choy into 2 cm pieces and boil in hot water for 3 minutes. (Boiling it separately keeps the color bright, but if that is too much trouble, it is fine to simmer it in the soup with everything else.)
- 2
Slice the green onion into thin rounds.
- 3
Put the dashi stock and the green onion from step 2 into a pot and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes.
- 4
Add the seasonings and simmer briefly, then add the bok choy from step 1 and stir to combine.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 7.5 kcal | 15 kcal | 7.5 kcal |
| Protein | 0.8 g | 1.5 g | 0.8 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 1.4 g | 2.7 g | 1.4 g |
| Fiber | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.5 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g |
| Calcium | 25.5 mg | 51 mg | 25.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.2 mg | 0.3 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Potassium | 159 mg | 318 mg | 159 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 7.5 kcal | 0.8 g | 0 g | 1.4 g | 0.3 g | 0.5 g | 25.5 mg | 0.2 mg | 159 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 15 kcal | 1.5 g | 0 g | 2.7 g | 0.6 g | 0.9 g | 51 mg | 0.3 mg | 318 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
