My mom came over for lunch yesterday and we had one of our favorite casual meals, big bowls of Japanese-style noodle soup with triangles of fried (or oven-fried) tofu. The original recipe is from my book "Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause", but I adapt it to what vegetables are at hand, which yesterday was mushrooms, savoy cabbage, and frozen shelled edamamé (green soybeans).
A funny story about that book: I was promoting it at a health food store in Calgary just after it came out, and I had some dips and spreads from the book for tasters. Men would approach to taste, but, 9 times out of 10, they would back away when they saw the title of the book! I had to tell them that it wasn't catching! Anyway, the first person to have a copy and use it was my stepson Sean, then in his early 20's. He threatened to put a brown paper cover on it, but he loved the quick and easy, tasty recipes!
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA’S JAPANESE-STYLE NOODLE SOUP WITH CABBAGE AND EDAMAMÉ, JUNE 25, 06 VERSION
Serves 4-6
Aadapted from my book “Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause”.
This is an easy, inexpensive and delicious meal for days when you have little time or energy.
4 c. water
4 c. good vegetarian broth
1/4 c. dry sherry
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 T. grated ginger
12 oz. Oven-Fried Tofu (below), or homemade or commercial deep-fried tofu cubes or triangles (atsuage)
2 carrots, in julienne strips
8 oz. dry semolina spaghettini, cooked and drained (OR thin quinoa, buckwheat, red lentil or black bean pasta; or Japanese barley pasta-- see other healthful, low-glycemic options below)
1 cup frozen, shelled edamamé (green soybeans), thawed in hot water
about 3 cups shredded Savoy cabbage
about 3 cups sliced mushrooms
sliced green onions and roasted (Asian) sesame oil for garnish
Bring broth and water to a boil in a large pot. Add sherry, soy sauce, ginger, tofu, and carrots. Simmer 5 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and vegetables. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve with green onions and sesame oil sprinkled over each serving.
NOTE: Other healthful, low-glycemic noodle options:
Asian "cellophane" or "glass" or "bean thread noodles, made from mung bean flour
Amaranth pasta
Millet pasta
Milo or sorghum pasta
cassava or malanga tuber pasta
Jerusalem artichoke pasta
sweet potato, yam or konjac pasta
BRYANNA’S OVEN-FRIED TOFU
Use firm tofu. Cut the block in half crosswise, then each half in half horizontally. Then cut each piece into triangles. Place these on dark oiled cookie sheets and oil the tops. Bake at 500 degrees F 5-7 minutes per side, or until golden and puffy. These may be frozen for future use.
Enjoy!
Can you use sherry cooking wine instead of the dry sherry or are they the same thing??
ReplyDeleteMelissa, cooking wine has salt in it, and tends to be low-quality. It's cheaper and better to buy a decent-quality, but not expensive dry sherry to keep around for cooking-- under $10 for a bottle, which is probably cheaper than cooking wine in the long run because it comes in little bottles. Dry sherry keeps well in a dark cupboard for months and months.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of oil do you use for the tofu?
ReplyDeleteOlive oil or sunflower oil or Chinese cold-pressed peanut oil. But usually, I oven-fry it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when I'm in a hurry, I cut the tofu as for oven-fried, but I pan-fry it in just a couple of T. of oil and then drain it well on paper.
ReplyDeleteHi Bryanna: What do you consider to be a *good* vegetable broth. Do you make yours from scratch or do you use the boxed kind or powdered. If so, are you able to give out a brand name?
ReplyDeleteI use a Canadian Brand, McCormick's. Starla, ask on the vegan Feast Forum, because I know we've had this discussion there and folks from the US can give you better advice about it than I can.
ReplyDeleteYUMMY! Bryanna, how nice to share such good food with your mom. :o)
ReplyDeleteI find it's worth it to get the sherry! It lasts forever too.
ReplyDeleteThe soup looks great! Does the tofu asorb some of the liquid from the soup? Does it hold it's shape well or become soggy? Never tried it in soup yet.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Crystal
Bryanna, as everything you do, it's great and inspiring to visit your blog. I'm glad to see that you too have some "let's-see-what-I-have-in-the-fridge-and-make-something-of-it" days like the rest of us :-D I thought it was a bit hilarious to see that the word "menopause" put some men off purchasing your cookbook. I'm really ashamed to say that for a while it had the same effect on me ... it's like some carnivores who won't eat smth vegetarian because "they're not veggies" - but, hey, I got it anyway, and I'm glad I did! I'm definitely not soyphobic - and Bjarne loves tofu and often asks: "Isn't it a while since we've had tofu?" if I forget to buy it.
ReplyDeleteCrystal & Ryan, the tofu does soak up some of the taste. And since the tofu is kind of crispy on the outside, and fairly firm in texture, it is nice and chewy and moist at the same time.
ReplyDeleteSøren, you'd be surprised at how often I've been having those "let's-see-what-I-have-in-the-fridge-and-make-something-of-it" meals these days! (My late husband Wayne used to call them "bread-and-with-it" meals, a saying of his Irish grandmother's.) For lunch today it's fried rice with whatever I can find in it! But, yes, I AM working on newsletter recipes, too!
I should get this book for my mom. She is in that stage of life and plus she has stronge vegan tendencies as of late and BIG cholesterole problem to take care of! I will start making for her this dish!
ReplyDelete