Tofu and Vegetable Soup (Printable)

A light, comforting Asian-style soup with silken tofu and fresh vegetables in a delicate broth, ready in just 30 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Broth

01 - 6.3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
02 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
03 - 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, thinly sliced
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 teaspoon sesame oil

→ Vegetables

06 - 1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
07 - 3.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
08 - 3.5 ounces baby bok choy, chopped
09 - 1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
10 - 2 spring onions, sliced

→ Tofu

11 - 10.6 ounces silken tofu, cubed

→ Garnish

12 - Fresh cilantro leaves, optional
13 - 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, optional
14 - Lime wedges, optional

# Step-by-Step:

01 - Heat sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sliced ginger, sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
02 - Pour in vegetable broth and soy sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
03 - Add julienned carrot, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and red bell pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes until vegetables begin to soften.
04 - Stir in chopped bok choy and sliced spring onions. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until vegetables reach desired tenderness.
05 - Gently add silken tofu cubes to the simmering broth. Simmer for 2 minutes, handling carefully to maintain tofu integrity.
06 - Taste the soup and adjust salt or soy sauce as needed to achieve desired flavor balance.
07 - Ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with cilantro leaves, toasted sesame seeds, and lime wedge if desired. Serve immediately while hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together faster than you'd believe, perfect for nights when you're tired but hungry.
  • The soup tastes delicate but never bland—every spoonful has a gentle complexity from the ginger and sesame.
  • It's naturally adaptable to whatever vegetables are lingering in your crisper drawer.
02 -
  • Silken tofu is more delicate than firm tofu, so if you stir aggressively you'll end up with tofu dust instead of tofu cubes—treat it like you're moving through warm water, not soup.
  • The vegetables will continue cooking slightly even after you remove the pot from heat, so pull them off the stove when they still have a tiny bit of resistance to the bite.
03 -
  • Cut your vegetables fairly uniformly so they cook at the same pace and look intentional in the bowl instead of like you grabbed whatever size knife was handy.
  • The sesame oil is precious and potent—don't be tempted to add more than one teaspoon or your soup will taste like you were trying to make sesame oil soup instead of vegetable soup that happens to include sesame oil.
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