Name: Soup of Bean Thread Noodles, Garlic Chives, and Spiced Tofu
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth; 1 tablespoon rice or cider vinegar; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; ¼ pound green and/or yellow garlic chives; About ¼ pound bean thread noodles (package sizes vary); 1 pound extra-firm tofu (bean curd); 1 tablespoon peanut oil (preferably roasted); 1½ tablespoons minced ginger; Optional: ⅛ teaspoon ground hot pepper; 2 teaspoons garam masala or 5-spice powder; About 2 tablespoons shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini

By Elizabeth Schneider

Published 2001

About

A soupy, slurpy hotpot for a wintry afternoon. If you’re in a hurry or prefer not to prepare the flavored tofu, purchase ready-made seasoned, pressed tofu, available in most natural food stores. Tawny and firm, it is labeled variously as hot Chinese, Thai, spiced, and so forth. If you bake your own, choose either of the blends of sweet aromatics called garam masala (an Indian mix) or 5-spice powder (a Chinese one). Like most thick, noodly soups, this is best tackled with spoon and chopstick