“The bridge mix! The bridge mix! Fool!” — Uncle Jack of Arrested Development

Like the 4 p.m. Netipot, a good bowl of even the simplest soup can really turn an otherwise shitty day around, acting as a salve for the sinus congestion, hungry-tiredness, and mild existential trauma that so often accompany a busy day of running to class and answering flirty text messages. A pack of boullion in the cupboard or some frozen stock in the freezer can thus be a useful safety net for those days when loneliness, weariness, or chafe-age assail us. Here we discuss some basic modifications that, used alone or in conjunction, can elevate the aforementioned stock to a more respectable meal or snack.

Onions or shallots: Chop, then soften (or, if you’re feeling sassy, brown), some in oil in the bottom of your pan. Then add your stock (or boullion and water) for a mildly French experience.

Sriracha: The Excalibur of condiments is good in all manner of dishes, not least of all soups. Take the shoot-first-ask-questions-later approach and blast liberally into your bowl, or use the handy nozzle to spot some daintily on the surface.

Egg: Get your stock boiling in the pot, then scramble an egg or two in a separate bowl with cracked black pepper. Dump it in and it will cook near-instantly, resulting in a wonderful, proteiny, thickening effect.

Egg Noodles: Obvious, but not always acted upon. Just buy a bag and throw it in a cabinet; they last forever and cook in a few minutes in any completed broth.

Potatoes: Be innovative and start your pot by sautéeing some in oil and aromatics for about 15 minutes before adding stock, or be boring and cook some in your already boiling broth. Not often are we confronted with such a Thomas Edison-Terrence Malick moment, but when fate so deals the cards, true pioneers rise to the occasion (insert Donner Party joke here) and opt for the pleasant starch dissolution-induced creaminess of the former.

Apples: Sounds strange, to be sure, but these seasonal delights can really help thicken and sweeten a soup in a pleasantly fresh and new way. Just core and dice one and throw in with your initial potatoes, or brown, puree heavily and add in towards the end.

Hoisin sauce: It’s always good to have a bottle of this Ratty mainstay (for those in the know) in the fridge. Judicious use can give your stock a nice hearty-sweet note. Beware! Over-application can result in a concoction that, like some Midwestern girls, is just too drippily sweet to be attractive.

Ginger: True to the therapeutic intent of this column, we present zingiber officinale, which can be a cornerstone of any soup (especially, especially chicken) outside of cream-based chowders and beef broths. Just dice as finely as possible or grate and add with any onion, garlic, or other beginning ingredients; the smell of it cooking alone can be enough to right the world’s wrongs.

Sausage: Hell yeah.

Lime: Spritz a little juice on top of your more Southern Hemisphere-themed soups for a real good time.

Cream: If you were Greta van Susteren you might call it a “game changer” in the same tone of voice you use for words like “tweeting” and “qualified.” But you aren’t. So you might just drizzle a small amount atop your bowl of soup and call it nice.