FRAGRANT VEGETABLE BROTH

SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

I have based this broth on Vietnamese pho, but with the addition of plenty of extra vegetables. I’ve also used very non-authentic miso, which really adds to the richness of the broth. I have omitted the rice noodles, but feel free to add some if you fancy them. You could also offer an option of adding some very finely sliced raw beef fillet, lamb backstrap or fish fillet into the bowl for non-vegetarians; simply pour over the hot broth and it will cook the meat just right. The broth can be strained and frozen with the sliced shiitake before adding any vegetables.

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 star anise

3 cloves

½ cinnamon stick, crushed

½ teaspoon fennel seeds

2 black or 4 green cardamom pods, crushed

2 onions, halved

2 carrots, halved lengthways

2 celery sticks

4 cloves garlic, peeled, halved

5cm piece ginger, sliced

8 dried shiitake mushrooms

10g kombu or other chunky dried seaweed

1 teaspoon peppercorns, black or white

2 teaspoons raw sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup Shaoxing wine

2 tablespoons peanut or plain oil

300g firm tofu, sliced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

250g enoki or oyster mushrooms

1 tablespoon white miso

2 tablespoons fish or soy sauce

300g orange kūmara, peeled, julienned into long, thin strips,

or use kūmara noodles pickled red chillies, pickled red onion, bean sprouts, coriander,

Thai basil, lime wedges, hoisin, sriracha sauce, to serve Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and toast the coriander, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and cardamom pods for about a minute until smelling fragrant. Set aside.

Heat a large stock pot over a high heat and char the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and ginger for about 10 minutes until they get blackened (remove any that get too black, then add them back once the others are done).

Add the spices, shiitake, seaweed, peppercorns, sugar, salt and Shaoxing wine along with 2 litres of water. Bring to the boil then reduce to a low simmer, cover and cook for 50 minutes.

Heat half the oil in a frying pan and sear the tofu for a couple of minutes, adding a good drizzle of soy as you do. Set aside and cook the mushrooms in the same way.

Drain the broth into a new saucepan. Fish out the shiitake and slice thinly, then add back to the broth. Bring to a low simmer then stir in the miso and add fish or soy sauce to season to taste. Add the kūmara noodles or kūmara and simmer for 4-5 minutes until soft.

Divide the soup between bowls and top with mushrooms and tofu then let everyone add other flavouring as they like.