Sorta Soon Tofu Soup

My old roommate, M, is from Korea, and living with her, I fell in love with Korean flavors--especially Soon Tofu Soup! I'm normally not one for very hot food, in spice or temperature, but something about the extremely spicy, piping hot Korean soup just hits the spot. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find vegetarian or vegan Korean food, and at restaurants I have often had difficulty explaining that I do not want any meat or seafood in my broth, that I don't eat fish eggs or fish sauce, and that I do not want the egg cracked on top. The stripped down version is so far from the original that the confusion is quite understandable. I realized that what I really wanted is just a hot vegetable and tofu soup with that amazing Korean red spice, and here is attempt one at recreating this. We really enjoyed it--it was perfect for a lazy winter evening.

Ingredients:

1 packet of soft tofu

2 large carrots

1 yellow squash or zucchini

1/2 head of cabbage

handful of chopped spinach (fresh or frozen)

10-12 mushrooms (wild mushrooms would be even better!)

1 yellow onion

5 cloves garlic (minced)

1 carton (4 cups) of vegetable broth

1-2 cups water

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp kimchee powder 

1 tbsp of chili garlic sauce

1 tsp of red chili flakes

2 tbsp sesame oil

salt to taste

Chop all the vegetables and tofu.  Heat the sesame oil on medium and add the kimchee powder and soy sauce. Cook the spice on medium heat for about 5 minutes, adding a little water every few seconds so that the spice does not burn. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes so that the garlic browns--again periodically adding water so that nothing burns. Next add the vegetable broth, tofu, squash, onions, and mushrooms. (Add the carrots now, too, if you like them soft.) Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Then add the carrots, cabbage, spinach, chili flakes, chili garlic sauce, and salt. Bring to a boil, and let boil for 2-3 minutes. Serve right away while piping hot. Soon tofu soup is usually served with sticky rice to help mitigate the spiciness. 

If you have tips on the correct spices to use or how to improve on this recipe, please share!

And... to justify the 'art' in the 'EdibleArt' label on this post, I decided to tack on a picture of some cupcakes I made for M back in the day :)