Hearty Chinese Tofu Vegetable Soup

This healthy Chinese inspired tofu vegetable soup is perfect for the cold weather! It is flavorful and filling without being overly heavy. Although it is great on its own, you can definitely bulk it up by adding in some cooked noodles or serve it with a bowl of freshly steamed rice.

💚Why you will love this recipe

• Cozy, filling and satisfying - This Chinese tofu soup is bold and rich in flavor, and is like a hug in a bowl! Making it especially great after a long day at school or work.
• Easy and quick to make - This soup is ready in 30 minutes, and only calls for simple ingredients you probably already have on hand.
• Versatile and customizable - You can serve this tofu vegetable soup as a starter, side dish, or even as a light meal. It is also easily customizable and you can swap veggies used in this recipe with whatever you have on hand instead.
• Nourishing and wholesome - It is packed full of colorful, nutrient-rich veggies and high protein tofu cubes to keep you satisfied for longer.

🧅What you will need

📃Notes/substitutions

• Enoki mushrooms - You can substitute with some sliced button mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms instead.
• Soy sauce - Tamari or shoyu can be used in place. Use low sodium ones, if needed.
• Vegetable broth - You can use vegetable stock powder or bouillon cubes. Make sure to give it a good stir after adding it into the pot to make sure that it fully dissolves.
• Oil-free - Use ¼ cup water or broth to saute your aromatics, and omit sesame oil. For tofu, you pan-fry them without oil in a good non-stick pan.

🔪How to make

Place tofu cubes into a zip top bag along with cornstarch and salt. Toss to mix.

Heat up a tablespoon or so of olive oil (or other neutral oil) in a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Place tofu in a layer and cook for 2-3 minutes on each sides, until most sides are nicely browned. Set aside.

Now, heat up a tablespoon of oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot. Once pan is heated, place in ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute.

Next, add in broth, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and baby corn. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Let it cook, covered for 8-10 minutes, or until veggies are fork-tender.

Stir in enoki mushrooms, soy sauce, shaoxing wine and sesame oil. Remove from heat and serve.

✔Helpful tips

• Cut veggies into fairly equal bite sized pieces. This helps ensure that they cook at the same rate.
• Remember to use a large enough pot to prevent soup from boiling over. I am using a 5.5 quart Dutch oven.
• To make this Chinese tofu soup lower in sodium, use low sodium stock and soy sauce. You can also replace half the stock with water.
• If you prefer veggies to be on the crunchier side, slightly reduce cooking time by 3-5 minutes.
• You can also bake or air-fry your tofu.
  • To bake, preheat oven to 200C/400F. Place tofu on a lined baking tray. Optionally, spray on some cooking oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden.
  • To make them in the air fryer, set it to 200C/400F. Cook for 10-15 minutes, tossing them halfway through.

✨Variations/add-ins

Veggies - You can use any veggies in place of what this recipe calls for. Some great choices include cabbage, napa cabbage, choy sum, bok choy and mushroom of any kinds. You will need in total about 6 cups of vegetables.

Tofu - If you are not a fan, replace tofu with beans like chickpeas and white beans, or meat substitute like this seitan chicken. You can also stir in some silken tofu during the last minute of cooking.

Dumplings - Toss in some frozen dumplings to make this Chinese tofu soup more hearty and filling.

Cooked noodles - To give this soup more substance, add in some freshly boiled noodles. Soba, ramen and udon are some great choices. You can double the soup, if needed.

Flavorings - As mentioned above, this tofu vegetable soup is highly customizable, so feel free to add in whatever seasonings that sounds good! You can add celery salt, vegan oyster sauce or even red chili flakes.

🍚How to serve

• Rice - White or brown rice, your choice! You can even use cauliflower or broccoli rice for a lower carb version.
• Noodle dishes - It is pretty common to pair soups along with noodle dishes like this chow mei fun or vegan pad see ew here in Malaysia!
• Chinese main dishes - Or, you could go all out and whip up some Chinese dishes to go with your Chinese tofu vegetable soup. My personal favorite include vegan orange chicken, Chinese tofu fried rice or some tofu chop suey.
• Salads - Especially this Asian brown rice salad, or this Indian quinoa salad if you love spices!

❄Storage suggestions

Refrigerating - Let soup cool down completely and transfer it to a sealed container before storing. It should last 3-4 days in the fridge.

Freezing - This Chinese tofu soup is freezable, too! Just make sure to pre-portion soup up into containers before freezing. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Reheating - For frozen soup, let it thaw in the fridge overnight, or on countertop for a few hours. You can proceed on heating soup on stove by boiling it for a few minutes.

For a quicker version, you can thaw soup using your microwave's "defrost" function, before proceeding on microwaving it at 30 seconds burst on a medium-low setting. Keep a close eye and use a big enough bowl to prevent soup from boiling over!

Commonly asked questions