![[fried gluten package]](/images/friedgluten.jpg)
A simple, distinctive, delicious, and hearty soup.
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 5-6 | medium-sized tomatoes |
| 2.5 ounces | pre-fried gluten (麵筋) pieces (found in Chinese supermarkets; I like pre-fried ones, but unfried ones are fine, too, though see note below) |
| 4 cups | chicken broth (I like Herb-Ox boullion cubes, which are convenient and don't have added MSG) |
| (if not using pre-fried gluten, which already has oil, perhaps 1.5 tablespoons) | oil (e.g., canola) |
| to taste (maybe none) | salt |
| 1 teaspoon | sugar |
Cut tomatoes and gluten into large bite-sized pieces. Boil all ingredients and simmer long enough for the gluten to puff up after absorbing liquid. Boiling too long will make the tomatoes lose their form, although that will not affect the taste. Raw gluten will puff up a lot more than unfried gluten, so use a much smaller quantity of it. Serve!
Kong Kee Food Corp. fried gluten, which I freeze for longer storage:
A variation on 番茄素筋 from 微波素食套餐, 蕭義娟 著.