*For more on the safety of sea vegetables, see this article
Directions:
Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in 1/2 cup water until soft (about 15 minutes). Slice, removing the stem. Retain mushroom soaking water.
Place tofu on paper towels to drain some of the moisture while you prepare the other ingredients.
Rinse and soak sea vegetables in warm water while preparing rest of ingredients. Squeeze out excess water before adding.
Add the mushroom water to a 10-inch stainless steel skillet and bring to a boil. Add ginger, sea vegetables, mushrooms, scallion, mirin, and tofu, and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add soy sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes.