Winter is soup. There's snow on the ground tonight in the Twin Cities, so winter is now and now is time to eat lots and lots of piping hot, hearty soups. The rich silky broth and umami flavor of this Japanese style soup is amazing. I strongly recommend that you make this in the next month or two. Maybe do it a few times, in fact, because once you try it you’ll realize you didn’t make enough!
2 qt mushroom stock
10 oz udon noodles (or ramen but I like my noodles thicker!)
10 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
3.5 oz beech mushrooms, whole
1 large leek (or large handful of ramps), sliced
1 tbsp bacon fat
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1.5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
Sliced radishes and chopped cilantro for garnish
Soft boiled egg for topping
Serves 4
Step One:
The key to this entire recipe is really the mushroom stock. Start by checking that out on my other post here and put that together. Once that’s done, the rest comes together really easily. First, get your soft boiled eggs ready. In a medium pot, bring a couple quarts of water to a gentle boil. You don’t want it to be too vigorous or the eggs might knock together and crack. Carefully lower your eggs in (I suggest 4 eggs, one for each bowl), and boil for 7 minutes exactly, then place in an ice bath for at least 3 minutes. Remove from bath and set aside.
Step Two:
Get the mushroom stock heated in a large pot. Add the bacon fat, fish sauce, soy sauce, and worcestershire sauce to the pot. Turn the heat up all the way until it begins to boil.
Step Three:
While waiting for it to heat, start sauteeing the shitake mushrooms with the leeks. Drop one tbsp of butter into a pan and saute on medium with fresh grated ginger in the pan. Once the mushrooms are tender, turn the heat down to low.
Step Three:
Once the mushroom stock has come to a boil, add the udon or ramen noodles to the stock. Cook until tender then turn off the heat. Add the leeks and shitakes cooked in ginger.
Step Four:
With the remaining butter, lightly saute the beech mushrooms until tender.
Step Five:
Ladle the noodle soup into a bowl and start adding toppings. Adorn the top of the bowl with sliced radish, chopped cilantro, and the beech mushrooms. Peel the eggs and cut in half and place them in each of the bowls as well.
I love this recipe. Hope you do too!