mixed mushroom soup

i really can't get enough of the all the mushrooms here--there's so many different kinds, and they're so inexpensive. the last time i was at the grocery, i grabbed a pack each of eringi, buna-shimeji, and maitake in a fit of mushroom love. then i forgot about them, and was kind of forced to throw something together rather quickly on a sunday night before they went bad. it turned out really good, and was amazing in my bento the next day after everything had mingled.



ingredients
10 mL olive oil
500 g mushrooms (1)
1 leek
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500 mL chicken broth
20 mL soy sauce
10 mL mirin (2)
2 tsp fresh shredded ginger
12 sprigs mitsuba (3)
salt to taste

(1) エリンギ、ブナシメジ、マイタケ (2) 本みりん (3)みつば

i got everything from e-town in kosugi.

i listened to yoav-charmed & strange while making this.

let's go!
1. cut the leeks into decent size chunks. to prepare the other mushrooms: for the eringi, cut the tough part off at the base (about 1.5 cm), and cut into cubes. for the shimeji and maitake, cut the spongy base part off and just kind of separate the individual mushrooms. this is a little weird for the maitake; just do your best. but no need to cut into tiny pieces.


2. soften the leeks, garlic, and mushrooms in the olive oil. don't brown them, just cook until they get soft. you can do this in the same pot you'll cook the soup in, but it might be easier to do in a saute pan. just slide everything into your soup pot, and that includes the juice that comes out of the mushrooms. you have to wash the dishes, so it's up to you.


3. now add your chicken broth and bring to a boil. reduce heat. add the soy sauce, mirin, and ginger. simmer for 2 minutes.

4. now add the mitsuba. it took me about a year to use mitsuba in anything, i think out of spite. when i first arrived, i kept mistaking it for cilantro from across the produce section. if you've never used it before, it's a kind of parsley--it has a kind of nutty flavor, a lot like watercress. tear the bottom part of the stem away from the more tender part of the stem with the leaves attached. you can chop that up, but it's not necessary. throw it in right at the end, or you'll lose the flavor.

enjoy!

i ate the soup over some noodles, topped with carrot and dried red pepper rings.

if you're not a big fan of mushrooms, you should reduce the amount because i used a lot in proportion to the amount of broth. i think this would be awesome with some spinach or with chicken. it definitely benefited from the red pepper rings--i think a bit of hot sauce would be good, too.