BROTH:
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add onion and a big pinch of salt and sauté, stirring often, for 5 - 8 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger and chili flakes and cook for 2 more minutes. If the vegetables start to stick to the bottom of the pan, don’t worry, you’ll deal with that in a second, just keep stirring.
Add shiitake, water and soy sauce. Scrape the bottom of the pan with your wooden spoon to get all those sticky bits up. So much flavor there!
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for at least 40 minutes. While the broth is simmering prepare the tofu and toppings (instructions below).
Add brown rice miso, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sea salt. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning.
Remove from the heat and strain the broth. Reserve the mushrooms for serving, discard the rest (ginger, onion, garlic).
CRISPY TOFU:
Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
Drain the tofu and pat it dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Cut into bite-size cubes, sprinkle with starch and toss until the tofu is evenly coated.
Grease a baking pan with a little olive oil.
Place tofu on the baking pan and bake for 15 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes. It should be golden and crispy.
Alternatively, you could omit these steps (coating it in starch and baking it) and add the tofu cubes directly to the serving bowls, it will be soft, but it will soak up so much flavor from the broth.
TO SERVE:
Divide cooked brown rice noodles between four bowls, top with strained broth, tofu, reserved shiitake mushrooms, steamed broccoli florets, carrots, corn, green onions, sesame seeds and your favorite herbs.
Enjoy this comforting meal!
You can store the strained broth (not the toppings) in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for a couple of months.