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Okay, so this doesn’t involve any formal dashi or kombu or seaweed of any sort. The tofu was fried and there was kale and noodles, but damn, you haters can hate because this shizz was tasty. And easy! And did not involve buying new ingredients, which would be pretty silly since I’m moving. But that’s another story, so let’s start with this:
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During the late winter I ate a lot of mushrooms. For a month or so I saved all the stems and added them to a ziplock in the freezer to be used later to make…mushroom broth! Now, a civilized mushroom broth would probably be made from only one type of mushroom, likely shitake. I don’t really like shitake mushrooms and enjoy a bit of variety so these stems are from about 3 different kinds of mushrooms. Honestly, I don’t think it really matters what kind. This is a really easy way to make something that seems really complicated and impressive! So save those stems! It’s like recycling, yeah?
To make the mushroom broth just add all your frozen stems in a pot with water and simmer for 2-3+ hours on low. I’d say you want the proportions to be about 1/3 mushrooms to 2/3 water, but I didn’t actually measure anything so just play around…if it ends up too mushroomy you can just water it down, no big deal! Let it simmer and taste it every once in awhile until it’s to your liking. Freeze in ice cube trays or flat in a big ziplock so you can break pieces off, store in the freezer and you have easy mushroom broth at your disposal! Yay! Now on to the soup…
Ingredients
- mushroom broth (however much you want)
- extra-firm tofu, fried (unless you prefer it raw)
- vermicelli noodles (those tiny white strandy ones)
- miso paste (I used awake (aka + shiro) miso paste, it was a light tan color)
- leafy greens of choice (kale, spinach, etc.)
- green onions, chopped
- mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Cut and fry your tofu and chop your veggies. Set aside.
- Simmer your mushroom broth with the mushrooms, garlic and a pinch of salt for a few minutes.
- Turn heat to low and add in vermicelli noodles and leafy greens. Stir. The vermicelli noodles will soften in the hot water pretty quickly.
- Once noodles are good, turn off heat and stir in about a tablespoon of miso paste.
- Stir until combined and taste the broth. Add more miso paste and salt if desired. Be aware that the miso is very salty itself though!
- Pour into a bowl, top with chopped green onions and eat! Mmm!
See? That wasn’t so hard. I almost wish it was winter again so I could eat more soup. Almost.
