Cucumber Soup and Chinese Cabbage filled with minced Tofu

23Apr11

I have a huge book about Chinese cuisine that’s been lying around here since forever, and finally decided that it’s time to try one of the recipes.
The filled cabbage was originally made with minced meat, but I totally forgot to buy some at the store because I never buy meat anymore these days, so I passed right by it even though I had written it on my list… The last time I wanted to buy minced meat I couldn’t find it so I just gave up and used tofu instead, and it worked quite well so I decided to do it again.
There also seems to be ready-made minced meat substitute made out of tofu, but I’ve never tried it before.

The soup is a very simple one that mainly contains mushrooms, cucumber and garlic, but it tasted awesome. Garlic and onions can save any meal, seriously.
Even though where I come from(Hungary), there is something called “cucumber soup”, but it is eaten cold so I was a little suspicous about what cucumber would turn out like once heated.
It turned out to be amazing! The cucumber stays firm and crunchy and gives the whole soup a fresh, delicious taste.
The original recipe also had noodles in it, but I only wanted a light side-dish so left them out.

Mushroom and Cucumber Soup (serves 2)

• 6-8 medium sized mushromms, e.g. champignons
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 cup sliced leek
• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp miso paste

1. Slice mushrooms. Cut cucumber in half and remove its core, then slice as well.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan, sautée leek and garlic for 30sec, add mushrooms and stir for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium, after 5 minutes take off heat and add soy sauce, miso paste and cucumbers, let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Filled Chinese Cabbage (serves 2)

• 250g firm tofu (or minced meat)
• any kinds of vegetables you’d like; I used zucchini and tomatoes
• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• oyster sauce to taste
• sesame oil
• salt, pepper to taste
• Cabbage or salad leaves to fill

1. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, add sliced onions and sautée for a few minutes.
2. Add tofu to the pan, crumbling it with your fingers.
3. Add soy & oyster sauce, pepper and stirfry until tofu gets slightly crunchy.
4. Add vegetables and stirfry until done.
5. Take off heat and add ginger.
6. Serve pre-rolled or with leaves and filling on separate plates.

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Filed under: Dinner, Recipe, Side Dish, Soup, Tofu, Vegetables   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: chinese, Recipe, Soup, Tofu, Vegetables