soup dinners : sweet n sour mixed vegetable clear soup with tofu

The magic of sweet n sour in a bowl of colorful soup. This one is not as quick as the previous ones as some time for chopping the vegetables is required but I don't mind handling these colorful ingredients, these are always a pleasure to work with ....

If you enjoy cooking food for your family as much as I do this soup will be a crowd pleaser I must tell you. So the chopping bit can be done smilingly even if you are scared of the knives and the board .... for me it is an indulgence ...anyone who is a foodie loves cooking generally but it can be therapeutic and please take notice if you are reading this just as an academic interest..

 See the colorful ingredients and save me from listing them here .....the bok choy, the bases slit lengthwise and the leaves chopped , beans and baby corns cut in a slanted manner , spring onions ...white parts slit and leaves chopped , mushrooms and carrots chopped in slices , tofu cubed and lots of garlic , ginger and green chillies very finely chopped .... Some soy sauce , tomato ketchup , pineapple juice and pine apple cubes will be used later in the process....

To proceed cooking , heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan and shallow fry the tofu cubes till pinkish brown and drain them . Flash fry all the vegetables in the same pan , adding the leafy green parts later while frying . The vegetables are fried just for a minute so they do not loose their color and crunch . Keep all these into a separate plate ....

Now add the chopped ginger garlic and green chillies in the same pan which is still greased after the previous frying ....keep the flame very low this time and stir fry the ginger-garlic-chilly till they are all fragrant , add a splash of soy sauce ( as much as you like ) and a tsp or two of white vinegar . Mix and add some tomato ketchup ( I add about 1/4 of a cup but it should be to taste and use fresh tomato puree if minding your sugars ) ...add a cup of pineapple juice and some cubed pineapple pieces too . Add enough water for the soup and let it come to a quick boil .

Add the stir fried vegetables and tofu and adjust seasonings .  There should a nice balance of sweet and sour and a bit of heat comfortable for your palate................ 

Serve immediately as you would like it hot . Tofu soaks the flavors like a sponge . You can see a similar recipe here which can be made into a soup if needed that way...

Every vegetable retains it's own character in this soup and the soup part is just so awesomely flavorful...

A complete meal as it has enough tofu to keep you full . Hard boiled egg cut into halves is also a nice addition if you are too hungry ...........



My smiley bowl wishes you again for a happy and healthy eating in the coming year.....