Vegetable and tofu soup
Reviewed by Dr Namrata Bagaria, MBBS, MPH (Harvard)Last reviewed
There are days when chewing is the problem: a mouth ulcer, a tooth that is being difficult, a chest infection, or simply no appetite. What usually happens on those days is tea and a biscuit, and then nothing until evening.
This is the bowl for those days. Everything in it is soft, it is warm, and it still has real protein in it because of the tofu. It is also genuinely quick, which matters when you are not feeling like cooking.
Silken tofu is the soft kind sold in a block in water or in a carton. It breaks apart in the soup, which is what you want here; firm tofu stays in cubes and is better in a stir-fry.
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 tsp olive oil or sesame oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 spring onions, white and green parts kept separate
- 2 cups cabbage, shredded
- 1 carrot, cut into thin rounds, optional
- 4 cups water or a light vegetable stock
- 250 g silken tofu
- Salt and black pepper
For flavour, use what you have
- 1 tsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 tsp miso paste, if you have it
- 1/2 tsp chilli flakes or a little red chilli paste
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- A sheet of nori seaweed, crushed, optional
Method
- 1
Warm the oil in a pan. Add the onion, garlic and the white part of the spring onion with a pinch of salt, and cook gently until the onion softens and goes translucent.
- 2
Add the cabbage and carrot and cook for two or three minutes, stirring, until they start to wilt.
- 3
Add the water or stock, along with the soy sauce, miso if using, and chilli. Bring it to a simmer.
- 4
Spoon in the silken tofu in large pieces. Do not stir hard from here or it will disappear; move it gently.
- 5
Simmer for five minutes. Add the sesame seeds, the green part of the spring onion and the crushed seaweed if using.
- 6
Taste for salt, remembering the soy sauce has already brought some, and serve hot.
Good to know
- About eight grams of protein a bowl. That is a light meal, not a large one, so have it with a chilla or some toast if it is your main meal.
- Miso, gochujang and nori are worth having if you can find them, and the soup works perfectly well without any of them. Plain garlic, chilli and soy sauce is a good bowl.
- Soy sauce and miso are both salty. If you watch your blood pressure, use one or the other and add no further salt.
- It does not keep well once the tofu is in, so make what you will eat.