Addictively Hot & Sour Mushroom, Tofu and Cabbage Soup

Logan can't stop talking about this one. It's about to enter my regular rotation.

I almost cried at the market today because they were out of both ginger and jalapenos. After a long, rough day in what seems like a month of long, rough days, this was a crushing blow. My cheeks flushed, my eyes welled, I threatened to leave my cart and walk out.

Luckily, the very understanding and supportive Logiebear was there to tell me it was okay, and that certainly we could go to Kroger and find jalapenos, and wasn't that ginger over there? (Nope, galangal.)

So, I finished up the rest of the list like a rational human being, rather than screaming at the heavens WHYYYY MEEEEEE and storming out of Whole Foods. 

Guess what though, guys. Kroger didn't have any jalapenos either. Is there a jalapeno shortage? All of a sudden I'm hearing R.E.M.'s "It's The End of The World" in my head, and I don't feel fine.

But it's getting late, and there's soup to make. Kroger has ginger, a pretty poblano and a cayenne; so, fine. I can be flexible. This new chillness bubbling to the surface is going to make for a good cooking experience, right?

So I get home and start prepping. Chop chop chop, measure measure measure. All good. Then I start cooking. Time to put those substitute peppers in the pot!

I'm prepping other ingredes for a bit, then go to stir the pot. I'm immediately frantically confused. Did they melt? Did they evaporate? Where are the stupid peppers? WHYYYY MEEEEEE?!?!?!

Oh, cool, I put them in the trash.

At this point, I had half a mind to give up, and the other half a mind was clearly not functioning. But I had more of the chilis left, so, chop some more, put on a happy face and pretend nothing happened. 

I know I said previously that I learned not to cook frustrated or angry, but this soup proved to be an exception. It was fantastic. With the first bite, it made me forget all the inner turmoil that I'd gone through to get to that moment. Maybe this soup has so much love for humanity that it could sense I needed a win. I wouldn't put it past 'er.

Another great thing about this soup: it's not dependent on particularly seasonal ingredients. And -- perhaps at least partially because of that -- it comes off as a soup without a season. As in, I would eat this stuff all year, regardless of weather. The slightly spicy tang makes me think I'd be just as happy eating this in 90 degree weather as in 12.

I'm sure you could switch up the vegetables or keep adding more to your heart's content. You could totally make this with rice noodles instead of rice. You could also use brown rice (my original plan, as evidenced by the ingredient photo) if you don't cook it at 9pm and thus not want to insert a single extra minute between you and soup. And having any sort of rice element qualifies it for Starch March.

The heat is totally adjustable here, so have no fear. Just make this soup. It's definitely in my top three of this month, and now the only reason I want to cry is because we ate every last bite.

Hot & Sour Mushroom, Tofu and Cabbage Soup
Adapted pretty significantly from The Kitchn
Served two big pigs tonight but should likely have served four


For tofu:
1/8 cup tamari
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon mirin
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon sambal oelek
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 of a 14 oz block of extra firm tofu, cut into bite size pieces

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and add tofu, turning as necessary to get all sides marinated, as you make the rest of the soup.

For soup:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
4 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped poblano pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
4 cups vegetable broth 
1/4 cup jasmine rice
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon tamari
1 teaspoon sambal oelek 
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 head of green cabbage, sliced very thin
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
green onion, sliced, as garnish
cilantro, leaves picked, as garnish
sriracha, as garnish

Heat oil over medium heat in your soup pot. Add mushrooms and cook for five minutes, then stir and cook for another five minutes. Add pepper, garlic and ginger, stir and cook another five minutes.

Add vegetable broth and rice and bring to a simmer. Cook about twenty minutes. Add lime zest and juice, tamari and sambal oelek and stir. Continue stirring as you stream in the beaten egg. Add cabbage and onion and let cook for just a minute or two -- softening just a bit without losing crunch.

Divide among bowls and top with marinated tofu, green onion, cilantro and sriracha.