A generous pot for a fasting day, tangy with vinegar and soy and thickened just enough to cling to the spoon. The vegetables go in by stages so each keeps its own bite.
Chinese Nine Vegetable Hot and Sour Soup
A brothy, tangy hot and sour soup crowded with tofu and nine vegetables.
Servings 8
Ingredients
For the soup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1/2 savoy cabbage, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 quarts water or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 8 oz extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 baby bok choy, thinly sliced
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp sesame oil
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, and jalapeno and cook for a few minutes, stirring.
- Add the sweet potato, carrots, and cabbage. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, until the cabbage starts to wilt.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, cold water, and cornstarch in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Add the zucchini, bell pepper, and tofu to the pot. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the soy sauce mixture and cook until the soup thickens, about 8 minutes.
- Add the bok choy and tomatoes and bring the soup back to a simmer.
- Stir in the sesame oil and serve.
To keep it strict (oil-free)
Sweat the onion, ginger, and jalapeno in a splash of the broth instead of the olive oil, and leave out the finishing sesame oil, to keep a strict fast.