Tofu ramen noodle soup

Ingredients

• 1 packet firm tofu

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 100g edamame beans

• 2 carrots, sliced into discs

• 10 mushrooms, quartered or sliced

• 1 courgette, roughly chopped into thumbsized chunks or sliced

• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 bunch of spring onions, sliced

• 1 large red chilli, finely sliced

• 3 vegetable stock cubes

• 1 tsp chilli flakes

• 1 star anise

• Soy sauce

• Rice vinegar

• 1.2 litres of water

• 3-4 nests of noodles

Tasty tofu ramen soup

I love a big bowl of comforting noodle soup and it always cheers me up when I’ve had a long day. This is my favourite tofu ramen soup recipe and you can make it your own by changing the vegetables to suit your tastes or to use up what you have in the fridge. If you’re not a spice fan, just leave the chilli and chilli flakes out. This recipe makes four large bowls of tofu ramen.

Step 1 Drain the tofu in a colander, then softly squash it to remove all the water. Next, press it gently with kitchen roll several times to remove excess moisture. Turn over and repeat. Chop the tofu into 2cm squares.

Step 2 Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and fry the tofu on a low heat for 5 minutes, turning the tofu occasionally with a spatula. Add the chopped garlic and ginger, chilli flakes, star anise, 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of rice vinegar. Stir gently and cook on a low heat for 2 minutes.

Step 3 Add the carrots, mushrooms and courgette and cook for 2 minutes. Add the water and turn up to a high heat to bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn down to a simmer and add the noodles and stock cubes. If you love lots of noodles, add four nests; if you prefer a more brothy ramen, add three. Add 2 tbsp of soy sauce

Step 4 Simmer for 4-5 minutes until the noodles are cooked, then serve into large bowls. Sprinkle the fresh chilli and spring onion on top and add more soy sauce to taste if desired.

Tips You don’t have to go with the vegetable choices I’ve chosen – pak choi, sugarsnap peas, baby sweetcorn and green beans all work well in this Japanese noodle soup. You can swap tofu for Quorn or soya chunks too. If you don’t have spring onions, a chopped small onion works well too. 

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