Tomato, tofu and egg-drop soup with wheat vermicelli
Tomatoes cooked down into a rosy broth with silken tofu and egg ribbons, poured over fine wheat vermicelli — tangy, light and moistening on a dry autumn morning.
- 22 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Easy
Why it suits you: Yin-deficient people are short of fluids, prone to a dry mouth and throat and dry stools, and Bailu's rising autumn dryness drains yin further. Tomato generates fluids and quenches thirst, tofu clears heat and moistens dryness, and egg nourishes yin and blood. A clear, low-oil broth with a tangy-sweet edge makes a moistening breakfast that never sits heavy.
Method
Prep 10 min · Cook 12 min- 1Score a cross in the top of each tomato, soak in boiling water for 1 minute, peel and cut into chunks. Dice the tofu, beat the eggs and chop the spring onion.
- 2Heat the oil and cook the tomatoes over a medium heat for 3 minutes until soft and juicy. Add the water and sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- 3Add the tofu and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn the heat down, pour the egg in a slow circle over the surface, wait 5 seconds, then stir gently into ribbons. Season with salt.
- 4Cook the vermicelli in a separate pan of boiling water for 1–2 minutes, drain into bowls and ladle over the soup. Scatter with spring onion and add a few drops of sesame oil.
Cautions
- Tomato and tofu are cooling, so add two slices of ginger if your digestion is weak or you get loose stools; wheat vermicelli is already salted, so taste before seasoning.
Chef's tips
- Cook the tomatoes until juicy before adding water for a deeper, redder broth; wait a few seconds after pouring in the egg before stirring for pretty ribbons.
The TCM view
Tomato is sweet, sour and slightly cold, entering the liver and stomach, generating fluids, aiding digestion and clearing heat. Tofu is sweet and cool, clearing heat, moistening dryness and generating fluids; egg is sweet and neutral, nourishing yin and blood and calming the mind; wheat vermicelli supports the heart and spleen.
