Shiitake and Enoki Mushroom Soup


I've been craving this simple enoki mushroom soup that I had at my favorite Japanese restaurant back home so I've been on this crusade to make my own. While not quite the same, I like the version that I've managed to come up with. It's a simple recipe and although not quite a lunch time bento I've brought it in a thermos for breakfast after a brisk walk to work in the Sydney "winter" (I put that in quotes, it's so far been more like a chilly rainy fall than any winter I've experienced in Texas).


I digress. After a bit of hunting and improvising this is what I ended up with. Let's start with the ingredients. As you can see it's a pretty simple soup: I have 100g of fresh shitake mushroom, 250g enoki mushroom, Dashi broth package, Soy Sauce, Chinese Mi Jiu 米酒 (Since I didn't have Sake or Mirin, but I like this better, less of a sweetness), and salt to taste. Yup that's it!

First I remove the stems from the shiitake caps and slice them thin. I also cut off the end of the enoki mushroom bunch and separate them into small 1/2 inch bunches. I know the conventional wisdom is not to wash mushrooms, but Alton Brown did a good enough job convincing me otherwise besides, they were going into the stock pot for soup so what's the harm.

Next I heat two quarts of water and I disolved 1 packet (6 grams) of dashi granules.

Add 2 tbsp of soy sauce and 2 tbsp of Mi Jiu and bring the broth to a boil.

Once there I lower the heat to a simmer and drop in the mushrooms and cook for about 20 mins.  If you like some heat I would suggest adding some white pepper.

Done! Delicious and very simple. Also most stores also carry a Kombu dashi which would be a fine substitution for regular dashi if you want this to be a vegetarian/vegan soup.

Shiitake and Enoki Mushroom soup

100g Fresh Shiitake Mushroom
250g Enoki Mushroom
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Mi Jiu (Chinese cooking wine)
6g Dashi granules (Kombu Dashi for vegan)
64 oz of water
Salt and white pepper to taste

Clean mushrooms, remove stem from Shiitake mushrooms and slice thinly. Cut off base of Enoki Mushroom bunch and pick off small "bunches" about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat water and add Dashi granules. Once disolved add Soy Sauce and Mi Jiu and bring to a slow boil

Turn down to simmer and add Mushrooms. Simmer for 20 mins. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

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