Hot & sour SOUP WITH TOFU and SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

When you want to warm up quickly, here is a spicy Asian soup that is ready within 30 minutes. Filled with exciting flavours, tofu, and shiitake mushrooms – it’s a lively first course.

INGREDIENTS

2 cloves of garlic

1 fresh red chilli

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger / or 1½ teaspoon ground ginger

250 g shiitake mushrooms, cleaned

150 g bamboo shoots, drained

vegetable oil

soy sauce

rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon runny honey

1,5 litres of hot organic vegetable stock

325 g firm tofu

2 spring onions

½ bunch of chives

1 large free-range egg

METHOD

1. Peel the garlic and deseed the chilli, then roughly chop and place into a pestle and mortar and add a pinch of salt. Peel, finely chop and add the ginger, then mix until combined.

2. Finely slice the mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and fry for 4 minutes. Stir in the chilli paste and bamboo shoots and fry for a further minute.

3. Meanwhile, mix together 6 tablespoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, honey and a good pinch of pepper. Stir the mixture into the pan and cook for a minute, then pour in the hot stock and bring the soup to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, chop the tofu into 1cm cubes, add to the soup and cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Finely slice the spring onions and chives and whisk the egg well.

6. Remove the soup from the heat. Using a chopstick, stir the soup in a clockwise direction until you get a little whirlpool, then slowly add the beaten egg, stirring continuously to form thin ribbons. Return to the heat for 1 minute to warm through. Season to taste with soy sauce (about 4 extra tablespoons are needed) and vinegar if you wish, then serve immediately with the spring onions and chives scattered on top.