Ginger and Mushroom Tofu Hot Pot

This recipe is from Good and Cheap.

Good and Cheap is a gorgeous cookbook for people with limited income, particularly on a $4/day food stamps budget. The PDF is free (ahora en Español!) and has been downloaded more than 15,000,000 times. I have more cookbooks, too!

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This wonderful Ginger and Mushroom Tofu Hot Pot is inspired by my brilliant friend Iva. I was so excited when she asked me to create something that featured the Chinese flavors she grew up with. After all, Chinese cooking depends on the same general principles as Good and Cheap: build bright flavors from a few key ingredients; use lots of veggies and just a little meat or fish. The ginger-garlic broth in this hot pot is spectacular! You can use whatever vegetables you have around, but mushrooms help create an earthy broth. The effect of such a small amount of toasted sesame oil is remarkable, too—an investment, but a transformative flavor.

Ginger and Mushroom Tofu Hot Pot

Print Recipe

Tofu slices, vegetables and noodles snuggled into a hot ginger, garlic and mushroom broth. Comes together quickly and is even better on day 2.

• CourseMain course, Soup

Servings

4

Servings 4

Ginger and Mushroom Tofu Hot Pot Print Recipe Tofu slices, vegetables and noodles snuggled into a hot ginger, garlic and mushroom broth. Comes together quickly and is even better on day 2. CourseMain course, Soup Servings 4 Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp ginger root finely grated
• 4 cloves garlic finely grated
• 8 cups water
• 1/2 lb mushrooms chopped
• 1 tso chile paste
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 4 scallions chopped
• 16 oz firm tofu
• 4 medium carrots chopped
• 8 oz drired spaghetti, soba or any Asian noodles
• bean sprouts (optional)

Additions

• chicken pork or beef
• peanuts chopped
• cabbage chopped
• kimchi
• chile peppers chopped
• fresh cilantro chopped
• daikon radish sliced

Instructions

1. If you have time, freeze the ginger root for an hour before you start. It’s much easier to grate when frozen! Store the rest of the root in the freezer until the next time you need it.
2. Drop the grated ginger root and garlic into a pot over medium heat. A few seconds later, once you can start to smell the garlic, pour in the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
3. Add the mushrooms, chile paste, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil. Place a lid on the pot and let simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Separate the white and green parts of the scallions. You’ll cook the white and save the green to sprinkle over the soup.
5. Cut the tofu into four slices, then turn each slice into eight squares. Or just chop it up however you like.
6. Add the tofu, carrots, and the white parts of the scallions to the broth. Cook about 10 minutes more, until the carrots are tender.
7. Add the noodles and keep boiling until they soften, usually just a few minutes, although it depends on the type of noodles.
8. Taste the broth. If it isn’t salty enough, splash in more soy sauce. Adjust the sesame oil and chili paste to your taste as well.
9. Ladle the soup into bowls. For a little crunch, top with bean sprouts and the green bits of the scallions. Add any other additions you like.
10. If you have leftovers, you’ll find you like this soup even more the next day. Overnight, the flavors will infuse into the tofu, as well as combining with each other. You might want to store the noodles separately, though, because otherwise they’ll get soggy.