Spicy Tofu & Vegetable Broth

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp gochujang paste
• 400 g firm tofu, drained and cut into 2cm cubes
• 200 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 200 g bok choy, halved
• steamed rice or noodles, to serve
• 4 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• Pickled cucumber, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Pat the tofu cubes dry on kitchen paper and season with a pinch of salt — water means steam, and steam means no golden crust. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pot over medium-high until it shimmers.
2. Lay the tofu in a single layer with space between the pieces. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the tofu steams in its own moisture instead of browning. Leave it untouched for 3–4 minutes, until deeply golden on the underside, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Lift out onto a plate.
3. Drop the heat to medium. Add the garlic and ginger to the same pot and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant — burnt garlic turns the whole broth bitter, so watch it and don't let it go past pale gold.
4. Stir in the gochujang and let it bloom in the oil for a full minute, the paste darkening and turning fragrant as the chilli toasts. Raw gochujang tastes sharp; bloomed gochujang tastes deep and round.
5. Add the shiitake and cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until they soften and slick themselves with the chilli paste.
6. Pour in the vegetable stock and soy sauce, then add the rice vinegar — that splash of vinegar is what stops the broth tasting flat under all the salt and chilli. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes so the flavours marry and the broth deepens.
7. Slide in the bok choy and return the tofu to the pot. Simmer for 3 minutes, until the leaves are just wilted and the stems still have a little bite. Taste the broth — most of the salt comes from the soy and gochujang, but adjust now with another splash of soy or a pinch of salt to tie it together. Taste again.
8. Ladle into bowls over steamed rice or noodles, drizzle each with sesame oil, and scatter generously with sliced spring onions.