In America when I’m feeling sick or worn out from too much fun the night before my go-to feel better food is Pho (Vietnamese beef soup). Unfortunately it’s not available in Rwanda. What I HAVE come up with is a poor man’s substitute I like to call Gukira soup.
In Kinyarwanda gukira has two meanings. The first is to be rich, the second means to recover from illness (get better). When a person sneezes in Rwanda the people around say ‘urakira’ or ‘kira’.
The recipe for Feel Better Soup:
2 c water
4 beef bouillon cubes
Grain of your choice (pasta and couscous are my go-to)
Whatever veggies I have (onion, tomato, and carrot are common for me)
The following are to taste:
-Minced fresh ginger*
-Chopped parlsey
-Minced garlic
Prepare veggies, parsley, ginger and garlic. Add everything except parsley and tomatoes to water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling add bouillon cubes, parsley and tomatoes. If using pasta add pasta and boil until al dente. If using couscous boil 2 minutes more, add couscous, cover and wait 5 minutes.
The ginger/beef broth combo makes my taste buds super happy.
*I learned the hard way that high ginger in high doses can be a diuretic soooo be careful.
Yum. Sounds better than chicken rice with croutons and Tabasco