Last week, my husband and I got barraged by a vicious cold and it rendered us useless for three straight days. During that time, we watched a lot of movies, moaned, and discovered that we live in a food delivery no-man’s-land. So, in my misery, I mustered up the strength to make this soup out of stuff in the fridge and pantry. It turned out to be everything we needed to feel better: spicy, sour, and satisfying. It’s basically a miso soup with vinegar, chiles and ginger, and I just added frozen grocery store wontons to finish. It was really awesome! And did I mention it’s ready in 10 minutes? –Megan B. Click for Megan’s easy, yummy recipe!

Megan’s 10 minute hot & sour wonton soup
(serves 4 normal people or 2 starving sick people)

8 cups water
1 bag dashi* (dried bonito broth base, found in the Japanese section of the grocery store)
2 tbs. miso paste
1/2 tbs. sambal or asian chili garlic paste (I added more, but I like it really spicy)
2 tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce – more to taste if you like
12 oz. frozen wontons (I used the Chicken Cilantro Wontons from Trader Joe’s)
3 tbs. Japanese pickled ginger (garnish)

Bring the water to a boil. Once it boils, toss in dashi, remove from heat, and cover. Let steep for 5 minutes, remove bag, return to a boil, add the wontons and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and ladle out approximately 2 tbs. water from the pot and add to the miso paste. Stir together until it is smooth, and pour back into the soup. Add remaining ingredients, season to taste and garnish with the ginger.

*Dashi is easy to find, but often contains MSG. I added a link for the brand I use which is MSG-free. Feel free to substitute either chicken or vegetable stock for the dashi/water combo.