Boil the water, add the mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic and leave to steep for at least 30 minutes, as long as possible.

When you are nearly ready to eat, heat the broth base in a medium saucepan, then add the miso paste - you never want this broth to boil (it will ruin the miso) keep it below a simmer. Add the soy sauce, then taste it, adding more soy or miso as you see fit. Keep it hot.

Toast the spices in a hot dry pan, add the oil, cook for a minute or two. Remove from the heat, transfer to a serving bowl and leave to cool and steep while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Bring a big pan of water to the boil, add salt, then add the noodles. Arrange the pak choy stems down in a steamer insert, sieve or colander - it's fine (great even!) if the leaves poke out the sides. Steam the pak choy over the noodles, covered, until the stems and noodles are both nearly done, then poke the leaves under the lid, add the oyster mushrooms and steam it all for a further couple of minutes.

When they are done, use tongs to distribute the noodles and vegetables between the bowls, then pour over the broth, through a sieve to remove the aromatics. Serve immediately with a generous drizzle of spicy oil.