Kelp Noodle Soup

Are you an adventurous eater?  When you go to a chinese buffet, do you grab a plate of seseme chicken, or do you try the eel, (or if eel is a fave, do you try the walnut shrimp?)  When you see new things in the grocery store, do you toss them in your cart?  I do.  That's how I ended up looking in my pantry for a dinner idea and finding these.

Kelp Noodles.  I thought they'd be nice for a vegetarian soup.  So that's what I made - Kelp Noodle Soup.

I started by slicing up 2/3 of a block of firm tofu and marinating it in chile oil & soy sauce for 1/2 hour.  I heated up 2 tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a stock pot, then added the marinated tofu and seared it.

I removed the tofu from the pot, added a drizzle of seseme oil, and sauteed 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 tablespoon minced ginger for a minute before adding 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup thinly sliced carrots, 1 cup shredded cabbage, the sliced whites of 2 scallions, and the tofu.  I brought this up to a simmer and added the kelp noodles.  The soup was ready after just a few minutes.   I added the sliced green parts of the scallions, and some fresh mint to the bowls just before serving.

Snuggle Bunny is not really a fan of tofu, but he did enjoy the noodles.

Thanks for popping in and cooking with me.  I'm linking this up to Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays.