Spicy Coconut-Lime Noodle Soup with Mushrooms and Tofu

In my busy/laziness, I think I've made versions of this soup three times in the past month.  This last time was the best.  Infinitely versatile, you really only need: the basic garlic/ginger, some veggies/tofu, something salty (miso or tamari or stock), water, something creamy (peanut butter or coconut milk), some lime juice and hot sauce to finish it, and maybe something carby (rice or noodles) to add in at the end.

Mushrooms gave a wonderful meaty/fishy texture (adding a piece of nori or kombu might also be great!), and tofu and noodles made this soup a complete meal.  I kept the noodles separate from my leftovers as they had a tendency to disintegrate if I mixed them with the broth and then refrigerated it overnight.

Spicy Coconut-Lime Noodle Soup with Mushrooms

Ingredients

oil

1/4 c scallions, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 piece of ginger as big as your thumb, finely chopped

1-2 chilies, seeded and finely chopped

8-16 oz tofu, cut into cubes

8 oz mushrooms, quartered

tamari

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1 can coconut milk

1 can water (or more)

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miso and/or stock paste

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3 servings rice noodles

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juice of 1-2 limes

chili garlic paste, to taste

mint, chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook rice noodles separately, drain, and set aside.
2. In a medium-large saucepan, heat oil and saute scallions, garlic, ginger, and chilies several minutes.  Then add tofu and mushrooms; cook until tofu is browned (totally ok if some sticks to the pan) and mushrooms release their liquid.  Deglaze with a tiny bit of tamari.
3. Add coconut milk and water; depending on how liquidy you want the soup, you may want to add more than 1 can of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.  Stir in miso and/or stock paste to taste--the magic amount should probably be 1-2 TB, but you don't want to overdo it.
4. After simmering 10+ minutes, turn off the heat.  Ladle into individual bowls, add noodles, and add lime juice, chili garlic paste, and fresh mint according to taste.  Serves about 4.

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In other news... my back steps appear to have become squirrel central.  This dude is aggressively claiming his territory.

It rather reminds me of when these guys ruled the block.