A staple of Chinese restaurants, this soup is simple and bold. This is a vegetarian version but any combination of cooked meat or seafood works very well.

 

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms or 1-1/2 cups fresh sliced shiitake mushrooms

4 cups vegetable stock (see Appendix)

1 cup tightly packed spinach leaves

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

4 slices ginger root

7 ounces tofu, cut in ½-inch cubes

4 chopped scallions

2 dried red chilies, seeded and finely chopped or 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

2 tablespoons fish sauce (available in Asian markets)

3 tablespoons lime juice

 

Directions

Soak dried mushrooms in 1 cup of warm water for 30 minutes. Combine vegetable stock and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the ginger. Pour the mushroom soaking liquid through a strainer and into the vegetable stock. Rinse the mushrooms under cold water to remove any grit and add to pan. Add spinach, red pepper, tofu, scallions, dried chilies, fish sauce, and lime juice. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.