Miso Mushroom Soup, Blended Smooth
East meets the French veloute. All the silk of a classic blended soup, carried by the deep umami hum of miso, ginger, and hard-seared oyster mushrooms.
SMOOTH · The mushroom is blended into a sauce or soup. No pieces at all.
Japanese cooking builds its depth on miso, the fermented soybean paste at the heart of the kitchen, and on dashi, a savory stock. Here the oyster mushrooms are browned hard to build that depth, then the miso finishes it, and the whole thing is blended smooth.
Serves four.
- 1 and a half lb fresh Blue or Pink Oyster mushrooms, chopped
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- One 4-inch piece kombu, optional, for extra depth
- 3 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 scallions, sliced, to finish
- 01
Heat a heavy pot over medium high, dry. Add the mushrooms and brown them hard, stirring now and then, until they release their water, it cooks off, and they color deeply, about 10 minutes. Add the oil for the last couple of minutes to help them brown.
- 02
Add the onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook until soft, 5 minutes.
- 03
Pour in the broth and drop in the kombu if using. Simmer 15 minutes, then remove the kombu.
- 04
Take the pot off the heat. Whisk the miso with a ladle of hot broth until smooth, then stir it back in. Never boil miso hard, it dulls the flavor.
- 05
Blend the whole soup completely smooth. Stir in the sesame oil. Top each bowl with scallions.
- A spoon of Mushroom XO Sauce for crunch and heat.
- Smoky Pink Oyster Bits scattered over.
Add the miso off the heat, always. Boiling flattens its bright, living flavor. Kombu is a strip of dried kelp from any Asian market or the international aisle, and it deepens the broth, but the soup is excellent without it.
