Chinese Seaweed Soup with Pork Balls and Tofu

Serves 6

Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

For the stock

2L water

100g Chinese dried seaweed – (we can get this dried in packets, not nori) cut into pieces

3 chicken legs

1 brown onion, thickly sliced

2 cloves garlic

2cm ginger

1 carrot, chopped 

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick 

1 tbsp coriander seed

2 tbsp soy

¼ tsp sesame oil

Salt & pepper

For the pork balls

250g pork mince

2 spring onions 

a few drops sesame oil

1 bunch coriander

1 red chilli, diced 

1-inch ginger, microplaned

1 tbsp of light soy sauce

Salt & pepper

200g firm tofu, diced

1 tsp of fried shallot 

1 tsp corn flour

Enoki mushrooms, shiitake, king browns

To serve

Noodles

Spring onion

Coriander

Seaweed

Fried shallots

Method

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with all of the ingredients for the stock. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. 

Mix minced pork well with chilli, soy sauce, ginger and spring onions. Season with salt & pepper and add in the coriander and sesame oil. Shape into balls about half a golf ball in size and set aside.

Once the stock is ready, add in the mushrooms. Take out the chicken thighs and shred the meat from the bone. Add in the pork balls to the stock to cook through. 

Add cooked noodles to a bowl, add in the tofu, shredded chicken and some shredded seaweed. With a ladle, spoon in some pork balls and the mushrooms to the bowl with some of the stock.

Garnish with coriander and spring onion, more seaweed and fried shallots.