HONG KONG-STYLE NOODLE SOUP WITH TOFU & CHINESE VEGETABLES

The cooked egg noodles should still be springy and chewy so don’t be scared to slightly undercook them; once you add them to the hot soup they’ll continue to cook a little longer. I like to eat my noodles with a dash of chilli sauce or chilli oil to amp up the flavour. This is a very traditional and widely eaten dish across China, Hong Kong and the world.

1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock

¼ tsp white pepper

thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, sliced

½ Tbsp light soy sauce

1 nest of fresh egg noodles (vegan option: use dried rice noodles/ vermicelli)

200g (7oz) firm tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 handfuls of your chosen Chinese vegetable (choy sum, bok choy, gai lan or Chinese Napa cabbage), cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tsp sesame oil

1 spring onion (scallion), thinly sliced

salt to taste

Put the stock, white pepper, sliced ginger and soy sauce into a saucepan, place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste for seasoning.

Bring another saucepan of water to the boil, add the noodles and cook for 1 minute until tender but still springy (cook rice noodles for a little longer). Drain and place into 2 serving bowls.

Add the tofu and vegetables to your soup and return to the boil. Once boiling, remove the soup from the heat and gently pour over the noodles. Add a splash of sesame oil, a sprinkle of sliced spring onions and eat it while it’s hot.