SERVES FOUR

INGREDIENTS:
115g/4oz/sca nt 2 cups dried sh iitake
mushrooms, soaked in water for 20 minutes
15m III tbsp vegetable oi I
2 sha llots, halved and sliced
2 Thai chillies , seeded and sliced
4cm/ P/2 in fresh root gi nger, peeled
and grated or fi nely chopped
15m 111 tbsp nuoe mam
350gll2oz tofu, rinsed, drained
and cut into bitesize cubes
4 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and
cut into thin strips
sa It and grou nd black pepper
1 bunch coriander (cilantro),
sta lks removed, finely chopped, to garnish For the stock
1 meaty chicken carcass or 500gll lj4 I b pork ri bs
25glloz dried squid or shrimp,
soaked in water for 15 minutes
2 onions, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, crushed
7.5cm/3 in fresh root ginger, chopped 15m II 1 tbsp nuoe mam
6 black peppercorns
2 star anise
4 cloves
1 cin namon stick
sea salt

Method:
1 To make the stock , put the chicken carcass or pork ribs in a deep pa n. Drain and rinse the dried squid or shrimp. Add to the pan with the remaining stock ingred ients, except the sa lt, and pour in 2 litres/3 1h pints/8 cups water. Bring to the boil , and boil for a few minutes, skim off any foam , then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on for 11/2-2 hours. Remove the lid and continue simmering for a further 30 minutes to redu ce. Skim off any fat , season, then strain and measure ou t 1.5 litres/21h pints/6% cups.

2 Squeeze dry the soaked shi itake mushrooms, remove th e stems and slice the caps into thin strips. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok and st ir in the shallots, ch illies and ginger As the fragrance begins to rise , st ir in the nUDe mam, fo llowed by th e stock.

3 Add the tofu, mushrooms and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste and scatter the finely chopped fresh coriander over the top. Serve piping hot.

Tofu soup with Mushrooms Tomato Ginger and Coriander