Recipe adapted from Beth Ginsburg
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ lbs firm tofu, cubed
- 1 roasted onion* cut in half and thinly sliced
- 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
- 6 carrots, peeled and cut into julienne strips
- 3 heads baby bok choy, sliced lengthwise down the middle, or ½ small head regular bok choy, diced
- 8 cups vegetable stock or mushroom broth
- ½ cup low-sodium tamari
- 3 Tbsp mirin (Japanese seasoning wine) or 1 Tbsp sugar
- 8 oz fresh spinach, stemmed, washed, and chopped
- 8 oz dried clear rice vermicelli or soba noodles
- 5 green onions, split lengthwise and thinly sliced on the diagonal
Directions:
- Place tofu, onions, mushrooms, carrots, bok choy, broth or stock, tamari, and mirin in a soup pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat and stir in spinach. Let steep for 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, while soup is cooking, cook rice vermicelli or soba noodles according to package directions. Drain.
- Place the warm vermicelli or noodles in soup bowls and ladle hot broth and vegetables on top. Sprinkle with sliced green onions.
*To make roasted onions, placed unpeeled onions in a baking dish and bake in a 350o oven until soft: about 45 minutes for medium onions, 50-60 minutes for large. When cool, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. They will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Roasted onions give body and depth to the broth. If you don’t have time to prepare them, cook sliced raw onions in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.