Chinese Tofu and Lettuce Soup

This soup was the real deal. I'm not even joking. It tasted like a real Chinese soup you'd find in a really good Chinese restaurant... only better, because it wasn't made with fish sauce.

I again referred to my "Soup Bible" for this recipe. This is what the picture in the book looks like,

And this is what mine looked like:

Pretty amazing huh?

I only modified the recipe a tiny bit (sesame oil instead of sunflower oil and no dry sherry.) Here's what I did:

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 package tofu, cubed and marinated in soy sauce
3 chives, slice diagonally
2 garlic cloves, cut into thin strips
1 carrot finely sliced
1 quart vegetable stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
Salt and pepper to taste

First: Heat the oil in a hot wok. We don't have a wok, so we just used a cast iron skillet. Add the tofu cubes and stir-fry until they are brown. Drain on paper towels; set aside.

Second: Stir-fry the scallions, garlic and carrot in the wok. (Again, I just used a soup pot for this step with a little bit of extra sesame oil.) Add the stock, soy sauce, sugar, lettuce, and fried tofu.

Third: Simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste.

Enjoy!

We made some arborio rice on the side, and added a little to our individual soup bowls. Mmm, yum. I love rice in soup.