- TLC >
- Guides >
- Food >
- Recipes >
- Courses & Dishes >
- Soups & Chilis >
- Soups
Mushroom and Daikon Soup
Difficulty Level Easy
In Toronto we have been teased with the possibility of spring, only to be thrust back into winter. Last Friday it was warm enough to be outside in shirt sleeves and people were eating on restaurant patios and today it snowed. It's hard to know what to serve in weather like this. I'm getting tired of hearty winter fare and I'm starting to think about lighter eating, but none of the fresh spring ingredients have arrived yet.
This soup straddles the seasons nicely and is chock full of mushrooms. The dried wild mushrooms give the soup a distinct earthy flavour, but the overall effect is quite light. You can use any mushrooms you like for this, I don't think it really matters. I had dried shiitakes and dried Trompets de la mort and then I used fresh cremini mushrooms. This would be a really nice soup to start off a dinner party with an Asian menu.
INGREDIENTS
| 3 | dried shiitake mushrooms |
| 4 | dried porcini mushrooms |
| 1 tablespoon | vegetable oil |
| ½ small | onion, thinly sliced |
| 1 clove | garlic, finely chopped |
| ¼ cup | Shaoxing wine or dry sherry |
| 1 piece | kombu rinsed (optional) |
| 8 ounces | mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced |
| ¼ cup | mushroom soy sauce or regular soy sauce |
| 3/4 cup | daikon, peeled and cut into small cubes, or silken white tofu, cut into small cubes |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper | |
| Lemon juice (optional) | |
| 4 pinches | chopped scallion greens, for garnish. |
PREPARATION:
- Place shiitake mushrooms in a small bowl; cover with hot water and set aside. Place porcini mushrooms in a separate bowl; cover with hot water and set aside. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and saut´ until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add Shaoxing wine or sherry, and reduce by half. If planning to use mushroom soy sauce, add 5 cups water. If planning to use regular soy sauce, add 4 2/3 cups water plus 1/3 cup soaking water from porcini mushrooms. Drain porcini mushrooms of remaining water and add to pan. Add kombu, if using.
- Bring to a full boil, reduce heat to low, and remove and reserve kombu. Drain shiitake mushrooms and discard stems. Slice caps and add to pan. Add fresh mushrooms and soy sauce. Cut kombu into bite-size pieces and return to pan. Add daikon and simmer until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. If using tofu, simmer only until heated, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
From The New York Times, Wednesday March 11, 2009
You Might Also Like
Soups are one of the easiest meals to make and perhaps that's why they are so popular. Read how to make your own soup with our recipes.
Learn how to make Dad's Meatball Soup recipe.
