I wasn’t sure how this soup was going to turn out. EatingWell is pretty reliable, but I’m not a mushroom fan – particularly dried, reconstituted shiitakes. But I had tofu and cabbage and carrots and some pre-cooked chow mein noodles so I went for it.

This was actually a pretty good choice, given the damp, chilly weather today. Everything goes into the slow cooker in the morning, and it cooks for 7-8 hours on low heat. It’s finished off with a cornstarch slurry and then the noodles.

The soup has tofu for protein (if you like chicken or pork, thin strips would work well also), and it’s a pretty filling soup. I admit to picking out the mushrooms but other than that I liked it a lot. I used a mushroom broth for the base and I think it worked well.

The recipe makes a LOT of soup, so it requires a large slow cooker. I cut it in half and it fit just perfectly in my smaller (3.5 quart) slow cooker.

• Shiitake & Noodle Hot & Sour Soup (EatingWell, January/February 2012)