When I said I was working on a soup book, the response was often, "Oh, I love soup!" People enthuse about soup in a way that’s so heartwarming it makes me feel as if I’m in the right camp...
Tofu soups don't always have to be miso based. Here tofu floats in a green broth infused with cilantro, scallions, and shiitake mushrooms. For extra flavor I add Chinese celery, lovage, or the Japanese herb shiso to the soup as it simmers, then sprinkle a few drops of roasted peanut or sesame oil into each bowl once it's served.
Serve within an hour, and the green sparkle of the cilantro pervades. Although it's certainly best then, I don't hesitate to make a lunch of the leftovers for myself.
Makes about 7 cups
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil*, plus extra roasted peanut or sesame oil to finish
2 slices fresh ginger, about 1 1/2 inches wide, smashed
Sea salt
2 teaspoons finely diced jalapeno chile
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/3 cup cilantro stems, finely chopped
2 bunches of scallions, including 2 to 3 inches of the greens, finely sliced
1 cup finely diced celery or thinly sliced Chinese celery
1/2 carton (8 to 10 ounces) soft tofu packed in water, drained and cut into small dice, or 1 aseptic box tofu, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon soy sauce, or to taste, plus extra for serving
Cover the mushrooms with 5 cups boiling water and set aside while you dice and chop the vegetables.
Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat (I use a flat-bottomed wok-shaped pan here) and add the oil. When hot, add the ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt, give a stir, then add the chile and garlic and stir-fry for 2 minutes, adding the cilantro stems during the last 20 seconds or so. Reduce the heat to medium, add the scallions, and cook until bright green, about 3 minutes. Next add the celery, another 1/4 teaspoon salt, then the soaking water from the mushrooms poured through a fine strainer, squeezing the mushrooms when you remove them from their water to get every little drop.
While the soup is simmering, thinly slice the mushroom caps and add them to the soup. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tofu, give it 2 minutes to heat through, then add the chopped cilantro and soy sauce.
Serve the soup with a few drops of roasted peanut or sesame oil in each bowl and extra soy sauce for those who wish.
*Loriva has made this oil for the past twenty years or so. I've been recommending it to readers since 1986. It has a big, full-blown scent of roasting peanuts that will truly astonish you. It takes any dish where it's used from blah to amazing. Loriva also makes fine roasted sesame oil and a passel of other oils, including walnut from California walnuts. Loriva oils can be found at supermarkets and specialty stores or online.
