This is such a nourishing dish and has the so desired umami-packed flavor. The key is to warm up the spices like gloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, coriander, and fennel seeds to bring the flavors of this Vietnamese noodle soup together.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon avocado oil
4 star anise pods
1 whole cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
1 big onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 2-inch (5 centimeters) fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
400 grams dried shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp raw brown sugar
1 tablespoon miso
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 liters of filtered water
Noodles and Vegetables & Tofu
400 grams firm tofu (I used smoked Tofu)
1 ½ tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 heads of bok choy, halved lengthwise
400 grams oyster/shiitake mushrooms, torn or cut into bite-size pieces
200grams broccolini
360 grams noodles of your choice, I used rice stick noodles
1 red chili, sliced
80 grams soy sauce
Lime wedges, cilantro leaves, thinly sliced spring onions, sesame seeds for garnish
Heat the avocado oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, coriander seeds and fennel seeds and stirring occasional, until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add onion, carrots, celery, and the ginger and cook stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are starting to char in places and browned bits form on bottom of the pan, about 8-10 minutes.
Add the dried mushrooms, the brown sugar, miso paste and salt and about 2 liters of water. Bring to a boil and cook, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until reduced just slightly, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover pot, and simmer until broth is golden in color and nice fragrant, 45-60 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into medium saucepan; cover and keep over low heat. Add the 80 grams of soy sauce to the broth, taste and add more if needed.
While the broth is simmering, wrap the tofu block in a clean kitchen towel and place 2 tins to drain the excess fluids. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the tofu in an even layer and cook, undisturbed, until lightly browned underneath, about 6-8 minutes. Stir tofu and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and crisp all over, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp soy sauce and stir to coat. Use a slotted spoon, transfer the tofu to a platter.
Add the mushrooms, and fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally until softened and starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add 1 tsp soy sauce an cook, stirring until the mushrooms are coated and transfer to a clean plate. Add 3 tablespoons of filtered water to the saucepan, add the bok choy and broccolini over medium heat, stirring often, just until water is evaporated and bok choy and the broccolini is bright green. Finally, chook the noodles according to the package instructions, then rinse under cold water to prevent them to stick and drain.
Assembly the soup with the noodles, soup, and top with the tofu, mushrooms, bok choy, broccolini, lime wedges, cilantro leaves, spring onions, chili and some sesame seeds for garnish.
Enjoy!
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