Indulge yourself in the comforting embrace of Chinese tofu soup with vegetables. It requires little effort but offers a delightful outcome.

Note: This is a revised version of my 2017 post, featuring minor alterations, additional tips, and process shots.

Today, I’m introducing Chinese Tofu Soup with Vegetables (豆腐鲜蔬汤), a refreshing, soothing dish that I often turn to when my stomach craves a warm hug, especially after a hearty feast or on chilly days.

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Why this recipe
Ingredients
Cooking procedure
Serving ideas
Other warming dishes
📋 Recipe

Why this recipe

Although I’m a big fan of well-spiced food (think Mapo Tofu, Sichuan Mala Chicken), I also appreciate lightly-seasoned dishes that allow each ingredient to show off its natural taste. This tofu and vegetable soup is a great example.

Also, what makes this simple dish stand out is the rich umami taste (Xiān Wèi/鲜味) it offers without using any artificial flavoring. Dried shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, and dried shrimp are the key contributors.

As flavorful as can be, it calls for a short ingredient list, minimum preparation, and it’s very low in calories. So you need to give it a try!

Ingredients

To make this tofu and vegetable soup, here is the list of ingredients that you need:

Tofu, soft or medium-firm
Bok choy (aka pak choi), or napa cabbage
Tomato
Dried shiitake mushrooms, or other flavorful mushrooms
Dried shrimp, see below for vegan substitutions
Scallions
Seasonings: light soy sauce, salt, white pepper, sesame oil

Dried shrimp & substitutes

Dried shrimp is one of my secret ingredients for making extra tasty dishes. A small amount of it creates a distinct umami flavor that goes a long way. It works in a similar way to shrimp paste and fish sauce in Southeast Asian cuisines.

In Chinese/Asian stores, you can find two types of dried shrimp (See image above): the big, headless, orange-colored ones, and the small, whole-bodied, pale ones. Both work well for the recipe (I used the former for shooting this recipe).

🛎 Vegan substitutes: If you wish to make this dish vegan-friendly, omit dried shrimp and use mushroom/vegetable broth to replace water for the soup.

Cooking procedure

This dish takes less than 5 minutes to cook. But you’ll need to take some time to pre-soak the dried mushroom and dried shrimp beforehand.

Step 1: Rehydrate the dried ingredients

Dried shiitake mushrooms are wonderful at lending earthy, umami flavor to dishes. They’re much more aromatic than fresh mushrooms and thus are a better option. As I explained in my Guide to Shiitake Mushrooms, there are two methods to rehydrate them:

Soak them in cold water for 6 hours or overnight (This produces a better result)
Soak them in hot water for 30 minutes (This saves you when time is tight)

After soaking, squeeze water out of the mushrooms then cut them into thin slices. Make sure you don’t discard the soaking water. It will be used in the soup.

🛎 Tip: If you use fresh mushrooms as a substitute, consider using chicken, mushroom, or vegetable stock to enhance the flavor of the dish.

Dried shrimp also needs to be rehydrated to release its full flavor. Use a little hot water to soak for 10 minutes. Then chop the softened shrimp into finer pieces. You can also keep the soaking water to add to the soup later.

Step 2: Prepare other ingredients

tofu and vegetables cut into small pieces.

Cut tofu into cubes that you can easily scoop up with a spoon. Slice tomatoes into wedges. Chop bok choy into bite-sized pieces and separate them into two piles: stems and leaves. Finely chop scallions and separate the white the green parts too.

Step 3: Cook the soup

Firstly, heat oil in a wok/pot. Then sizzle the white part of the scallions and dried shrimp to bring out their fragrance.

Add shiitake mushroom and tomato and stir fry until the tomato turns a little mushy.

pouring mushroom water over tomato and mushrooms.

Pour in the mushroom soaking water (do so gently and leave out any residue at the bottom of the bowl) and the shrimp soaking water. Top up with some hot water. Bring to a full boil.

Gently slide in the tofu cubes. Leave to cook uncovered for about 2 minutes.

Add the bok choy stems and continue simmering for 20 seconds or so.

Then turn off the heat. Add the leafy part of the bok choy to the soup, along with light soy sauce, salt, white pepper, and sesame oil. Give it a final stir then garnish with scallion greens.

tofu and vegetable soup cooked in a wok.

🛎 Tip: Do not overcook bok choy to prevent it from losing crunchiness and becoming stringy. 20 seconds is enough to cook the stems and the leafy part can be cooked through simply by the heat of the soup.

Serving ideas

Compared to light soups like Egg Drop Soup, this tofu soup is quite substantial as it includes both protein and vegetables. So I sometimes make it for lunch and pair it with staples like Scallion Pancakes, Steamed Flower Rolls, or Zucchini pancakes.

You can also include it in a typical multi-dish Chinese meal featuring several savory dishes and steamed rice. If you enjoy hot food, add a dash of Chinese Chili Oil for extra kick.

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