Quick Asian Tofu & Vegetable Soup

Over the weekend I did not feel like going grocery shopping and decided to use the ingredients I had in my refrigerator to make a Quick Asian Tofu & Vegetable Soup. It's yet another one of my inventions along the lines of "if you don't use it, it'll end up in the garbage."

Ingredients
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 inch piece ginger, peeled, cut into 6 pieces
1/2 jalapeno
2 carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
1 small shallot, chopped
1/2 red pepper, cut into matchsticks
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1.5 cups cubed tofu
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce

Directions

1) While preparing all of your vegetables, simmer chicken broth & water with ginger, garlic and jalapeno. This will infuse the liquid with the flavors of ginger, garlic and jalapeno. After the soup is done, you can "fish out" these 3 ingredients. To make your job easier, you can put them in a tea ball (if you have a large one) or into a cheesecloth before adding them to the liquid.

2) After about 20 minutes of simmering, add carrots. Cook for 5 minutes.

3) Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 5 more minutes. The peppers should still be slightly crunchy.

This is a very versatile recipe as you can add other vegetables to it: broccoli, zucchini, bok choy, or even Brussels sprouts. You can also add chicken or leftover pork instead of or in addition to tofu. Why not add shrimp? You can serve the soup over rice or noodles. The possibilities are endless!

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