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Tofu soup

豆腐汤
Serves 4

I’m mad about tofu, which is simple, cheap, highly nutritious and tasty. This is a simple college student/bachelorette recipe for a meal with steamed rice and a spinach stir-fry. The egg strands add a pretty, delicate touch.

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a) 6 cups fresh chicken stock
3 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and shredded
150g beancurd – you can cube the silken kind or cut the firmish kind into long strips
Fresh or canned button mushrooms, shredded
handful of bamboo shoots
2 stalks spring onion, chopped
coriander leaves

b) 150g chicken meat, shredded
half tsp each salt and cornflour
quarter tsp pepper
dash of light soy sauce

c) Combined and strained:
2 tbsp sweet potato flour
3 tbsps water
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
Salt and pepper to taste

First
Marinate chicken with seasoning ingredients and leave for 10 minutes.

Second
Put stock into a pot and bring to the boil. Add shitake mushrooms, beancurd, bamboo shoots and shredded button mushrooms. When soup begins to boil, lower heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Increase the heat, stir in sweet potato flour mixture gradually, stirring the soup all the time. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Third
Gradually add the beaten egg mixture in a very slow, thin stream. Using a chopstick or fork, pull the egg slowly into strands. Ladle into individual bowls, garnish with spring onion and coriander and serve hot.

Sept 2006 © Yvonne Koh