Servings: 6-8
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 35 min
How can a dish be dark, mysterious, and filling, but spirited, uplifting, and light at the same time? I don’t know, but while you’re pondering, try this great soup.
Fresh Asian egg noodles (particularly the thick Shanghai variety or Japanese udon) are ideal here, but go ahead and use any kind of long pasta-fresh or dried-and your soup will be wonderful. Keep the cooked noodles separate and add them to each bowl just before ladling in the liquid. Explanation: The noodles tend to expand greatly if left in the soup, leaving you to wonder who drank all the broth.)
Ingredients
6 or 7 dried shiitake mushrooms
1½ cup boiling water
8 cup strong vegetable bouillon.
2 Tbsp miso
Tofu
6 star anise
4 or 5 lg slices ginger
4 cup (packed) stemmed, chopped mustard greens
(about half a lg bunch)
4 cup chopped bok choy, stems included (2 or 3 sm heads)
10 scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 lb fresh egg noodles – or ½ lb dired (ab 3 or 4 cup cooked)
Options for the top
Soy sauce
Chile garlic paste, chile oil, or red pepper flakes
Chinese sesame oil
Torn cilantro leaves
Directions
Preliminary:Rinse the mushrooms and place them in a small bowl. Pour in 1 ½ cups boiling water and cover with a plate. Let stand at least 30 minutes. (This can be done several days ahead, and the mushrooms can just stay in the water until use.)
Combine the bouillon, star anise, and ginger in a soup pot, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. At this point, the broth can sit for up to several hours-or even overnight-before you proceed.
Remove the ginger and star anise with a slotted spoon. Strain the mushrooms over the soup, squeezing them firmly, so all of their soaking liquid goes in. Then slice the mushrooms thinly and add them to the soup as well.
Heat the soup to the boiling point, and add fhe mustard greens, bok choy, and scallions. Turn the heat down, and simmer for about 2 minutes.
Meanwhfle cook the noodles in boiling water until just tender. Drain them in a colander, rinse, and drain again, so they won’t clump. Divide the cooked noodles among the largest soup bowls you can find, and ladle the soup on top. Pass around the optional toppings on a small tray, so each person can customize his or her portion.