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2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken

1 cup long-grain white rice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Bring the broth to a boil in a large soup pot. Add the wild rice and simmer for 40 minutes.

2 Add the vegetables and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

3 Add the chicken and white rice. Stir well and simmer until both kinds of rice are tender, about 30 minutes.

4 Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Kitchen Notes: If you make the broth from scratch, you will have more than enough chicken for the soup. Also, the soup will thicken on standing. Thin with additional broth or water if needed.

Winter is not a season, it’s an occupation.

— Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951)

Borscht

Serves 4

There are hundreds of different ways to prepare borscht, but if you order a bowl of borscht at a Jewish deli, this is basically the soup you will be served. It may be served hot or cold and with or without the potato. In the summer, I prefer it cold and without the potato, but in the winter, it is perfect served hot over a freshly boiled potato. Add a nice loaf of Jewish rye bread and butter to make a meal that is unparalleled in its simplicity and goodness.

4 medium-to-large beets (1½–2 pounds)

1 onion

4 cups vegetable broth or beef broth (pages 125–26) or water

4 thin-skinned potatoes

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sour cream

Dried dill, for garnish

1 Peel and shred the beets and onion. A food processor makes lovely uniform pieces, which greatly enhances the soup.

2 Combine the beets, onion, and broth in a saucepan. The broth should just barely cover the vegetables. Add additional broth or water if needed. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, cover the potatoes with water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil gently until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and keep warm.

4 When the beets have simmered for 30 minutes, add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Simmer until the beets are fully tender and the flavors have blended, about 5 minutes longer.

5 To serve, put a potato in each bowl. Break up the potato with a fork or potato masher, but do not mash. Ladle the hot soup over the potato in each bowl and top with a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle dill over the sour cream and serve at once.

Kitchen Note: To make a chilled borscht, refrigerate the cooked borscht and omit the potato when serving.

Hot-and-Sour Soup

Serves 6

Hot-and-sour soup is a popular item on many Chinese-restaurant menus. At its best, the unique blend of heat from ground pepper and sour from vinegar is a warming, and winning, combination.

DRIED VEGETABLES

6 dried shiitake mushrooms

6 dried wood ear mushrooms (optional)

10 dried lily buds (optional)

PORK AND MARINADE

8 ounces boneless pork, cut into matchsticks

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon sugar

SOUP

2 tablespoons peanut, sunflower, or canola oil

1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks

1 (4-inch) piece daikon radish or 1 turnip, peeled and cut into matchsticks

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

6 button mushrooms, sliced

6 cups chicken broth (page 127)

1 (7-ounce) can baby corn, drained (optional)

3 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more as needed

5 tablespoons rice vinegar, plus more as needed

1½ teaspoons Asian sesame oil

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed

1 pound firm or silken tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes

¼ cup cornstarch

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 Cover the shiitakes with cold water and set aside to hydrate for at least 4 hours, and up to 8 hours. Put the wood ears and lily buds in a separate bowl, if using, cover with hot water, and let soak for 20 minutes.

2 To marinate the pork, combine the pork, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame