This dish is all about softness both internally and externally, it helps one find peace and contentment within and supports one in understanding the best way to spread this energy.
About 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth ~ low sodium
2 Roma tomatoes ~ diced
½ cup daikon radish ~ cut into match sticks
2 - 3 cloves garlic ~ minced
1 tablespoon ginger ~ minced
1 pound mushrooms of choice ~ I used shiitake and crimini half and half
1 bunch green onion
1 pound baby spinach
2 large ~ boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 green tea bags
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon neutral oil ~ I used grapeseed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dice the tomatoes into about ¼-inch, mince the garlic and ginger, remove the stems from mushrooms and cut into fourths, thinly slice the green onions both the green and white portion.
Next we add broth (or water) to a saucepan with the chicken breasts, any trimmings from the ginger, salt, tea bags, oil of choice.
This next part is extremely important! If you would want moist poached chicken verses dry boiled chicken.
1. Add enough broth or water to cover the chicken by about an inch, and then place the pot over medium heat.
2. Wait – patience is a virtue - without increasing the heat until the cooking liquid comes to a very low simmer. This will take a few minutes but it makes sure the chicken stays soft and tender. If you increase the heat at this point to speed up the process you can end up with tough chicken.
3. Keep at a low simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through, it will take about 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken from liquid and let rest on a cutting board until cool enough to handle and shred with your fingers. I am not sure why but shredded chicken tastes better than cut chicken.
5. Strain cooking liquid through a fine sieve and save.
While the chicken is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine the diced tomatoes, garlic, minced ginger, green onions, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and rice vinegar.
Return the chicken to the broth and bring to a boil and reduce heat, add the, daikon radish and mushrooms and simmer for about 10 minutes, remove from the heat and add the spinach and stir until wilted (this happens quickly).
Divide the spinach and mushrooms into bowls, top with the shredded chicken, add just enough chicken broth to allow a little mountain of chicken to remain above the broth line, finally top with the tomato mixture.
Narrative: Helps ease uneasy feelings when you are aware that others are suffering and you are not--especially if you are unsure of what action(s) you should take to be of service. This soothing soup allows you to shine a gentle light inside and out and opens new doors of perception and a radiant heart, this allows one to see if there is a physical course of action that you want to engage in. Other times, it might come in the form of offering prayers, sending positive energies or performing a rite on their behalf.
Action: Chew + sip + reflect + put into action + good seeded into the world = <3
Now let’s explore the plant energies that make this possible
Daikon Radish
The daikon, whose name means “large root” in Japanese, ranges in size from six inches to three feet. It is beneficial for those who feel guilty or upset because others are suffering and they are not.
Shiitake Mushroom
A medicine and a culinary treat, shiitake promotes attunement to nature and can wake up entirely new forms of psychic energy with a sense of joy and wonder.
Tomato (General)
Tomato, first and foremost, teaches togetherness in many forms. Be it a loving family, a robust community, the dance of a relationship, a passion, or even courtship, this fruity vegetable is all about the heart. A part of this dynamic is its ability to help you be open to differences and new circumstances and joyfully embrace them.
Green tea
Ushers in tenderness and love at a deep inner level, which aids you in opening to aspects of yourself that hold great sensitivity and insight into love, and then radiating this light out into the world through a luminous mind and action.
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Candice Covington is the author of Vibrational Nutrition and Essential Oils in Spiritual Practice