Rainy Day Bowls: Comfort Food to Warm You Up

There’s a reason the rain makes you want a bowl of something hot. It’s not just the drop in temperature. It’s the steam rising off the top, the first spoonful that warms you from the inside, the way a good bowl of soup can make an entire evening feel calmer.

Every kitchen has its own version of this bowl. Different spices, different broths, but the same idea running through all of them, something warm, something simple, something that makes you slow down. Here are six worth adding to your monsoon rotation.

1. Thai Tom Kha Soup

A creamy, fragrant coconut soup built on ginger, chilli, and lemongrass. Warming, silky, and ready in under 30 minutes.

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1.5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 inch galangal or ginger, sliced
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4-5 kaffir lime leaves (or 1 tsp lime zest)
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• 200g chicken breast or tofu, sliced (optional)
• 2-3 red chillies, slit
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegetarians)
• 1 tsp sugar
• Coriander leaves, to garnish

Get the ingredients here

Method

1. Bring stock to a boil in a pot.
2. Add galangal, lemongrass, and lime leaves. Simmer for 5-6 minutes.
3. Pour in the coconut milk and stir well.
4. Bring back to a gentle simmer. Do not boil hard.
5. Add mushrooms and chicken or tofu.
6. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Add slit chillies, fish sauce, and sugar.
8. Stir and simmer for 2 more minutes.
9. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Pro tip: Add the lime juice only after removing the pot from heat. Boiling it can turn the soup bitter.

2. Mexican Sopa de Lima

A bright, tangy chicken-and-lime soup topped with crisp tortilla strips. Light, zesty, and full of flavour.

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 30 mins | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 250g chicken breast, boneless
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2-3 tbsp lime juice
• Salt to taste
• 2-3 corn tortillas or tortilla chips, cut into strips
• Coriander leaves and lime wedges, to garnish

Get the ingredients here

Method

1. Heat oil in a pot.
2. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until soft.
3. Add tomato and green chilli.
4. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomato softens.
5. Add chicken breast, stock, cumin powder, oregano, and salt.
6. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-18 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Remove the chicken and shred it with two forks.
8. Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
9. Stir in lime juice.
10. Shallow-fry or air-fry tortilla strips at 180°C for 4-5 minutes until golden.
11. Ladle soup into bowls.
12. Top with tortilla strips, coriander, and a lime wedge.

Pro tip: Add the tortilla strips just before serving so they stay crisp instead of going soggy in the broth.

3. Italian Minestrone

A chunky, garlicky vegetable and bean soup. Hearty, rustic, and endlessly adaptable to whatever vegetables you have on hand.

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 35 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1 cup cooked kidney beans or cannellini beans
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup small pasta (elbow or ditalini)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan and fresh basil, to garnish

Get the ingredients here

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot.
2. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant.
3. Add carrots and celery.
4. Cook for 5 minutes until slightly softened.
5. Add zucchini and chopped tomatoes.
6. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
7. Pour in the stock, oregano, and basil.
8. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
9. Add the beans and pasta.
10. Cook for another 8-10 minutes until the pasta is tender.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
12. Serve hot, topped with grated Parmesan and fresh basil.

Pro tip: Don’t add the pasta too early; it can turn mushy if it sits in the broth too long.

4. Moroccan Harira

A thick, warmly spiced lentil and tomato soup. Hearty enough to be a meal on its own.

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 40 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil or butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt to taste

Get the ingredients here

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pot.
2. Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté until soft.
3. Add turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon.
4. Stir for a minute until fragrant.
5. Add chopped tomatoes.
6. Cook for 5 minutes until they break down.
7. Add lentils, chickpeas, and stock. Bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Cook until lentils are soft and the soup thickens.
10. Season with salt.
11. Stir in lemon juice and coriander leaves before serving.

Pro tip: If the soup thickens too much on standing, loosen it with a splash of hot water while reheating.

5. Vietnamese Pho Broth

A slow-built aromatic broth with ginger and warm spices, served over noodles with fresh herbs. Simplified for the home kitchen.

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 onion, halved
• 2-inch ginger, halved
• 6 cups chicken or beef stock
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 200g rice noodles
• 200g thinly sliced chicken or beef
• Bean sprouts, Thai basil, coriander, and lime wedges, to serve
• 1 green chilli, sliced (optional)

Get the ingredients here

Method

1. Char onion and ginger halves over a flame or under a grill until slightly blackened.
2. Combine stock, charred onion and ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves in a large pot.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Strain the broth to remove whole spices and aromatics.
5. Stir in fish sauce and sugar.
6. Cook rice noodles separately as per package instructions.
7. Divide noodles into serving bowls.
8. Add raw, sliced meat directly to the hot, strained broth for a minute, until just cooked.
9. Pour the hot broth over the noodles and meat.
10. Serve with bean sprouts, Thai basil, coriander, lime wedges, and sliced chilli.

Pro tip: Charring the onion and ginger before simmering makes a real difference to the depth of flavour; don’t skip this step.

6. Spanish Sopa de Ajo

A simple, deeply savoury garlic soup with toasted bread and a poached egg. Rustic comfort in a bowl.

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8-10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3-4 slices of stale bread, torn into pieces
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2-3 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley, chopped, to garnish

Get the ingredients here

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a pot over low heat. Add garlic slices and cook gently until golden, being careful not to burn them.
2. Add the torn bread pieces and toast in the garlic oil for 2-3 minutes.
3. Stir in the smoked paprika, then pour in the stock. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the bread to break down slightly and thicken the soup.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Crack the eggs directly into the simmering soup, one at a time, and poach for 3-4 minutes until the whites are set.
7. Ladle into bowls, making sure each bowl gets a poached egg, and garnish with parsley.

Pro tip: Keep the heat gentle when poaching the eggs directly in the soup; a hard boil will break the whites apart before they set.

A tip for all of them

Let the broth simmer longer than you think you need to. That extra ten minutes is where all the flavour comes together, deepening the aroma and rounding out the spices.

Rain outside, a warm bowl inside. Some cravings really are that simple.

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