It’s Not Easy Going Back
NEW YORK // MOON: New // RECIPE: Warmly Spiced Ginger Chicken Soup with Yuba, Enoki, and Roasted Sweet Potato
We are back in New York after an exhilarating season in Southern Spain. Following years of drought, the skies opened and emptied themselves this winter. For the last month, the light hardly broke through the gray. Our area experienced record rainfall—more precipitation than there’s been in 16 years. Friends became stranded, marooned. Roads washed out. It was great weather for hearty Spanish comfort foods like Migas and broken eggs, and terrible weather for almost everything else.
Day after day, I curled up beside the fire as the concrete walls of our farmhouse became damper and less stable. Gordon paced each room, pointing out new cracks as they appeared. The firewood became so wet that the fire would hiss for hours, if we could manage to get it lit at all. For the sake of practicality, I cooked an ‘everlasting meal’ in a single pot, adding bits (of chorizo, or jamón, or chicken, or anchovies) and bobs (of pickles, herbs, or spices) each day to keep it interesting. We had to let the dishes pile up for lack of running water. We lived by candlelight to illuminate the room. I went without a shower more days than I care to admit.
Work stopped on our little DIY bathroom renovation project, and we took refuge at our friend’s flat while it was available for a week. Then we returned to the cortijo and begged the sky for even a glimpse of sunlight for solar power. Some days we had just enough to get by; other days we were powerless. When we had no other choice, we tucked into a hotel to renew ourselves and treat our freshened selves to a meal out. You have to laugh at the gloom sometimes. It was not the warm winter we were expecting, but still, the experience was a tear of honesty and romance. A privilege. At times, it was downright disgusting. We felt alive, and I loved it.
The purity of life at the cortijo forced me into the same simplicity. No hair or makeup most days. No interesting menus or ‘fits.’ No real consistency—a night here, then there. It was wonderful, but it’s not easy going back. The lack thereof stirs that sense of appreciation and longing. It tests you. It leaves you raw as you peel back the layers of distraction. All that is quiet within starts to find a voice. The truth seeks its right to be heard. So, you take your time. You take it. You are not here to suffer; you are here to live. And you need a shower.
‘Everything feels like luxury,’ I told G after arriving back on Sunday evening. A salty hot bath, an electric thermostat, my oven and stove, the pantry, and my collected tchotchkes. It’s a luxury to reflect on the memories of our wet, wild, weary winter in Spain—spent appreciating how lucky we feel to have come so far as to take this risk for a life-giving dream of tending to ancient olive trees. We don’t have half of it figured out still, but I am trusting.
I always welcome our return with a pot of chicken soup; I find it’s the perfect remedy for jet lag no matter which direction I am heading. (I really hate air travel, lol.) It’s so good to be home, here or there, but always so hard to go back.
Warmly Spiced Ginger Chicken Soup with Yuba, Enoki, and Roasted Sweet Potato
I made this delicious pot of soup yesterday on the Lunar New Year with an intention of health and prosperity as I reset back into my NY routine.
The broth is warmly spiced with cinnamon, star anise, cloves, fresh ginger, and turmeric. I added charred red onion for depth and green onions/cilantro for freshness. It’s served with yuba (tofu skin) for texture, noodles for longevity, and enoki mushrooms for good fortune. Roasty, caramelized sweet potato topped with molasses adds a touch of sweetness.
The flavors of this soup are a beautiful cross between a traditional Chinese ginger chicken soup and the aromatic depth of a Vietnamese phở. Serve with a few dashes of soy or fish sauce, or a scoop of your favorite chili crisp on top.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
Half a chicken (or a small whole chicken)
8 cups Water
2 inch piece of Ginger, peeled and sliced
3 roots of Turmeric, peeled and sliced
4 Green Onion, 3 cut into 2in lengths and one finely sliced
1 Red Onion, halved and charred
5 Star Anise Pods
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 Cloves
Pinch Cardamon
Dash of Coriander
6 pieces Tofu Skin Sticks (soaked in warm water for at least 10 mins)
1 package Enoki Mushrooms
4 Sweet Potatoes (roasted at 325f for 40 mins, turn off oven and leave in oven to cool)
Brown Rice Noodles
Cilantro
Salt
METHOD
In a large pot, add the half chicken, 8 cups of water, sliced ginger, turmeric, the 3 green onions (2-inch lengths), and the charred red onion. Bring the water to a boil, then immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer. Use a spoon to skim off any foam or "scum" that rises to the top in the first 10 minutes; this ensures your broth stays clear.
While the pot simmers, lightly toast the star anise, cinnamon stick, and cloves in a dry pan for 1–2 minutes until they smell fragrant and add to the pot along with the pinch of cardamom, dash of coriander, and a generous pinch of salt. Cover and simmer gently for about 45–60 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and fully cooked.
While the broth is simmering, handle your textures. Cook the brown rice noodles according to the package instructions, drain, and portion into soup bowls. Drain the soaked tofu skin sticks and cut them into bite-sized lengths. Trim the root ends off the enoki mushrooms.
Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pot. Let it cool, then remove bones and slice into small pieces. Save the skin and add to a small skillet over medium heat to crisp and brown. Serve as a soup topping for added flavor and texture.
Remove the onions, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise by scooping them out with a slotted spoon or straining through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot.
Add the tofu skin and enoki mushrooms to the simmering broth for 2–3 minutes until the mushrooms have softened.
Taste the broth and add more salt as needed. Place a portion of chicken in the bowl with the noodles and top with a scoop of the crispy chicken skin, nestle in a tiny roasted sweet potato, a few bites of tofu skin, and the softened enoki mushrooms. Ladle the hot broth over the top. Finish each bowl with the finely sliced green onion and a handful of fresh cilantro. Add a slather of molasses and a sprinkle of sea salt atop the sweet potato, if desired. A dash of fish sauce, soy sauce, chili crisp… whatever you fancy. Enjoy!