I lucked in, with some leftover whey, I made a delicious tomato tofu soup. It was light, appetizing and, had encouraged me to cook this soup also with whey (yes, I made cottage cheese again).
I love the original version of this soup with a fish called Big Eye (大眼魚/木棉魚), which needed to be pan-fried before boiling with other ingredients. It is not that hard to prepare, but when my lazy mood sets in, a simple task would sound a huge assignment.
Using store-bought stock is a viable option too, but let me tell you, the broth made from the ‘fresh’ whey plus the soy bean sprouts is way better than I could have anticipated. It seemed to have replicated the homey, Chinese flavors of the original soup (蕃茄大豆芽菜滾大眼魚湯), not to mention that it helped simplify the steps and allow me to prepare the soup in about 15 minutes
The bean sprouts used in this recipe, as its name suggested, are made from soy beans (same for making soy milk), and are different from those sprouts made from mung beans. However, they too have some raw smells but can also be removed by sautéing.
- Ingredients
- ~600g tomatoes
- 300g soy bean sprouts
- 4-5 ginger slices
- 1 cup whey (I used the leftover from homemade cottage cheese)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 sprig of green onion or coriander, sectioned
- Seasonings
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 1/2 -1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp fish sauce, optional
Method
Chop off roots of bean sprouts, discard discolored ones, if any. Wash tomatoes and soy bean sprouts; drain dry. Skin, deseed tomatoes and cut them into wedges.
Heat oil over medium heat in a heavy soup pot, briefly sauté ginger slices. Then add soy bean sprouts and stir-fry. Put in tomatoes, stirring constantly, until they begin to soften. Pour in whey and water, and bring it to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes, or a few minutes more if you want the bean sprouts and tomatoes to soften more.
Stir in seasonings, green onion (or coriander). Taste and make adjustment if required.
Serve hot.
Enjoy!
- Category: Bean / Legume . Diary Product . Featured . Vegetable .
- 18 comments
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Whey in soups…that’s a splendid idea. I used whey in the bread recipes, but never thought of adding it to the soup base….it looks very appetizing.
This looks so light and refreshing 🙂
oh that looks good!! i have never heard of soya bean sprouts before and not even sure if i can buy them in london. if i used normal bean sprouts and added tofu to the soup, do you think it’ll create a similar flavour? Thanks again for another great recipe! =)
next one on my to try list
this soup sounds quite quick-cooking which I like… add some noodles and get a tasty one-dish meal 😀
@Lucy L,
You are welcome : ). If you use mung bean sprouts, I’d suggest adding it to the soup toward the ending of boiling, about 15 seconds or before it loses its crunchiness. Even boiled longer, it won’t add much flavors to soups as soy bean sprout does. You may add some soft tofu (I cut it into small cubes, and you may also want to season it like this) and cook it for about 1 to 2 minutes. Hopes this helps, and have fun cooking.
Thank you, will give it and try and let you know how it goes 🙂
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@Lucy L,
Yes, please : ).
As mung bean sprouts are not going to build the body of the soup, you may only need a handful of it. Hope I’m not telling you too late.
@CJ at FoodSTories,
Thanks! I shall check it out.
Looks really interesting! Quick and easy!
I enjoy bean sprouts and tomatoes soup and you make me want to cook it again! Can I do without the whey?
@tigerfish,
It will be fine if you use stock or making one with frying the big eye fish. If you mean to make this with water, I suppose it will turn out more or less a tomato stock.
Tried this soup last night and it was delicious and light – great for summer evenings! (added ham & udon for my fiance – he needs meat and carbs every meal!)
@Lucy L,
Thanks for writing back : ), and happy to hear that you find this delicious.
This sounds like my kinda soup, thanks.
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HUbby loves this kind of bean sprouts but it’s not easy to get them here at where I live. Need to travel far to get them. You’ve just tempted me to make this soup. Looks really inviting.
Kristy
Way to go. I discovered your blog only two weeks ago and I was glad I did. After seeing your new dinicnttios, I will make it a point to read your blog first. Every day. Keep up the good work.