Spicy Tofu Hotpot

Ingredients

6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
14 ounces firm tofu, preferably water-packed
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce, or to taste
4 cups thinly sliced tender bok choy greens
8 ounces fresh Chinese-style (lo mein) noodles
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 cups vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

Instructions

Drain and rinse tofu; pat dry. Cut the block into 1-inch cubes.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add mushrooms and cook until slightly soft, 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in sugar, broth, soy sauce and chile-garlic sauce; cover and bring to a boil.

Add bok choy and tofu, cover and simmer until greens are wilted, about 2 minutes.

Raise heat to high/add more coals and add the noodles, pushing them down into the broth.
Cook, covered, until the noodles are tender, 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro.

Notes

“Warm up a chilly evening with this light but satisfying one-pot meal. The tofu absorbs the flavors of this fragrant, spicy broth, making it anything but bland. Look for fresh Chinese-style noodles in the refrigerated case of your supermarket alongside wonton wrappers. ”
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I made a variation on thi that turned out pretty good:
1) press the extra firm tofu for 15 min or so while getting out ingredients
2) cut the tofu a bit smaller than indicated in the directions
3) I used chicken broth and substituted a can of chicken breast for the mushrooms
4) I used Korean Gochugang sauce for the chile-garlic sauce
5) I used more bok choy than the recipe called for
6) I used Nekkid Noodlz ramen noodles and used too many noodles, had to add more water
7) after adding water, added a good chunk of Boon sauce, making it pretty spicy
Since I was approximating amounts, trying to make 1/3 recipe I got them off by a good bit, but with enough Boon sauce it works out. I probably ended up with about half a recipe of saucy noodles instead of soup.

To make in Dutch oven, all coals go on the bottom