Saturday, April 5, 2008

Vegan Miso Mushroom Soup

I made Miso Mushroom Soup for my sick husband. What makes this soup special is the Kombu (seaweed) which is high in nutrient value, the marinated mushrooms and the crunchy tofu.

2-3 Onions diced
2 Quarts water
2 tsps vegetable oil
3 Portobello Mushrooms marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar and fresh thyme and then grilled briefly under the broiler, cut into small pieces
1 lb firm tofu, cubed and browned on all sides and tossed with 1Tbs of Soy Sauce 
6-8 Tbls Miso (I like using South River Brand as it seems to keep well and comes in a variety of flavors)  For this soup I used a combination of ChickPea miso and Brown Rice Miso.
Garnish of fresh greens such as spinach, Kombu, baby chard, scallions.

I like to use a deep cast iron pot for preparing soups.  Start by browning the onion in the oil.  When the onion is beginning to carmelize turn the heat to low, cover and simmer stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.  Add the water, mushrooms, kombu, miso and tofu and bring to a boil.   

The broiled portobellos bring a nice meaty richness to this vegan soup.
Here is the Kombu after having been soaked briefly in water and torn it into small pieces.
Left over steamed baby kale from the night before is a nice addition as is the chopped scallions.  Add these immediately before serving the soup.
The finished soup.  

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for this recipe! I made a lazy version of this but still got great results: I sauteed the tofu in with the onions (which sacrificed the crispiness of the tofu--next time I'll try to do that part right!) and I used scissors to snip the kombu right into the soup pot instead of soaking it first.
Other permutations: I used a combo of shiitake, oyster, porcini and wood ear mushrooms, as years ago my mushroom cultivation professor warned us that all agaricus bisporus mushrooms naturally contain carcinogenic hydrazines, so I shy away from them now.
Lastly, I add miso only after the boiling is finished, to preserve the great bacteria it contains.