Asian Vegetable Soup

This is one of my newly adopted recipes. I have not yet tried it, but have created concoctions similar to this on my own many times. This is an add/delete, feel-free-to-improvise kind of recipe. When I've made things like this in the past, I treated it as a "clean out the fridge" experiment. I would think that shrimp, scallops or other fish or even chicken would work well in this (I've used shrimp and scallops in my own versions of this kind of recipe).

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 5  cups  vegetable stock
• 1  onions, thinly sliced or 2  scallions, chopped
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon gingerroot, Minced
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3  stalks bok choy (diagonally sliced, also shred leaves)
• 1  sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1  cup broccoli floret
• 1  carrot, shredded
• 1  cup mushroom, Sliced
• 1⁄2 cup peas
• 2  ounces buckwheat noodles (1/2 cup)
• 1⁄2 lb firm tofu, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• 1⁄4 cup watercress leaf

• GARNISH

•  pea pods, blanched (optional)
• 1  slice scallion, thinly sliced
•  celery leaves
•  toasted sesame seeds
•  lettuce or  watercress leaf, finely chopped

Directions

1. Place 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock in a Dutch oven or 3 1/2 - 5 qt saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Add onion, garlic, and gignger; simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Stir in remaining stock and soy sauce.
4. Cover pot and bring to a gentle boil.
5. Add remaining ingredients.
6. Test for doneness: noodles should be softened; vegetables should remain crisp/tender.
7. Timing - about 8 minutes.
8. Top each serving with one of the garnishes.
9. VARIATIONS: - substitute 1 c cooked brown rice for the buckwheat noodles peppers, chopped water chestnut, chopped jicama root, shredded spinach, chopped celery, or bamboo shoots.
10. EGG THREADS:
11. In a small skillet, heat a little margarine.
12. When it begins to bubble, add 1 egg beaten with a little cold water.
13. Tilt the pan so the yolk mixture coats it in a thin layer, the thinner the better.
14. When the egg is lightly cooked, turn it out onto a cutting board.
15. Slice it into very thin strips with a sharp knife. (makes about 1/3 cup).