Broccoli Wild Rice Soup

Late January 2020. The coronavirus news is getting louder. Cases outside China: South Korea, Japan, Italy. James monitors it through his tech-news feeds. I monitor it through the Korean news sources I now read (my Korean reading comprehension is strong enough for news articles, which is a milestone I never explicitly noted but which represents three and a half years of language study bearing practical fruit). The Korean news is detailed and specific: case numbers, transmission chains, government response. Korea takes this seriously. Korea is preparing.

My life continues alongside the headlines: work (the platform is stable, the team is performing), cooking (the rotation, the treaty, the Tuesday jjigae and Thursday doenjang jjigae), therapy (Dr. Yoon, now working on the intersection of the relationship and the identity — how the partnership with James integrates with, rather than replaces, the Korean self I built alone), Korean class (intermediate-advanced, conversational fluency approaching, the language becoming less a tool and more a habitation).

The birth mother search: nineteen months with GOA'L, ten months with 325Kamra, active search with the adoption agency. Three channels. Three silences. I have stopped checking email every morning. Not because I have given up. Because the checking was becoming a habit rather than a hope, and habits are not the same as hopes. The hope remains. The habit has been gently retired. I check twice a week now: Monday and Thursday. The reduction feels healthy. The hope is intact.

This week I made kongguksu — the cold soybean noodle soup that Karen loved when she first tried it. But I made it warm this time (a variation — heated soybean broth over noodles, a winter version of a summer dish). The warm kongguksu was creamy and comforting and the innovation felt like the kind of small culinary invention that I am increasingly comfortable with: not following a recipe but departing from one, trusting my instinct, making the food mine rather than anyone else's.

Saturday: Bellevue. Karen made her split pea soup. I brought warm kongguksu. Karen tried it and said, "You changed the kongguksu." I said, "I made it warm." She said, "It works." The highest engineering compliment: it works. Karen, unconsciously channeling David, approving the innovation with the simplest validation. It works. The food works. The life works. The waiting works. Everything, somehow, works.

Karen’s split pea soup that Saturday was exactly what her split pea soup always is: patient, deliberate, built from simple things into something quietly substantial. It reminded me that the soups I trust most share a logic — a long simmer, a thickened body, a warmth that doesn’t announce itself but simply holds. This broccoli wild rice soup belongs to that same family. It’s what I make when I want something that feels like competence made edible: nothing innovative, nothing borrowed, just a bowl that works.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed
3 cups fresh broccoli florets, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook the rice. In a medium saucepan, combine the wild rice with 2 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40–45 minutes until tender. Drain any excess water and set aside.
Sauté the aromatics. In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Build the roux. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat evenly. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, to remove the raw flour taste.
Add liquid. Slowly pour in the broth while whisking to prevent lumps. Add the milk and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 8–10 minutes.
Add broccoli and seasonings. Stir in the broccoli florets, mustard powder, and smoked paprika. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the broccoli is just tender but still bright green.
Finish with cream and cheese. Reduce heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Add the shredded cheddar a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until fully melted. Do not boil after adding the cheese.
Fold in the rice. Stir in the cooked wild rice. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 5 minutes to meld the flavors.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and garnish with extra shredded cheddar or a pinch of paprika if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Broccoli Wild Rice Soup — The Warmth That Works