Spinach Sweet Potato Brown Rice Soup

This is another take on the popular Filipino dish, Arroz Caldo which I have posted the slow cooker approach to preparing it in the past.  I have also posted a Quick and Easy Plant Based Arroz Caldo in the past since I have switched into this approach of eating since September of last year.

In this blog post, I have developed another version of this iconic Filipino dish which is one of the most pinned posts in this blog.  I stepped up the plant based or vegan version by adding two super foods, spinach and sweet potatoes.  The spinach is added to the soup towards the last minute while the sweet potatoes take the place of the marinated tofu that is used as one of the traditional garnishes in arroz caldo.  The result is this amazing vegan soup that is flavorful and filling despite the absence of chicken or tofu.  The marinated sweet potato pieces and its marinade give the soup its zing similar to the original and earlier vegan version of the soup.  The spinach gives it added texture. The green onion slices for me always complete whatever version you are using.   If you have a carnivore in your family you can always add chicken pieces to the resulting soup to make them happy.

Spinach Sweet Potato Brown Rice Soup

• 1 cup brown rice uncooked
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp dry onion flakes
• 1/2 tbsp dry garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves
• 1 cooked large sweet potatoes cubed and in its marinade (see recipe below)
• 2 stalks green onion, sliced
• lemon slices, optional

Marinate the cubed cooked sweet potatoes in the marinade the recipe of which is shown below and set aside, 

Place all the ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil and continue boiling gently with cover on till the brown rice absorbs the broth and softens.  At the last minute of cooking, add the spinach and cook till wilted. Ladle the soup into 4 individual bowls and garnish with marinated sweet potatoes and green onions. You can add the marinade if you like. You can also serve the soup with lemon slices.

Marinade for sweet potatoes

• 1 tsp dry onion flakes
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Add the cubed cooked sweet potatoes.  Set aside till needed for the soup.