Quick Mala Mushroom Soup

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20min Spicy and Tingly Mushroom Soup

I was missing my grandmother, and wanted to have a heart warming soup. Most of her recipes lived in her head, so I took inspiration from David Nicholls' book Off Duty and a recipe by Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. This recipe uses a traditional Awase Dashi (合わせだし). Awase means to combine, mixed, or together. Using traditional Japanese flavors with the tingly “má” sensation creates a combination of global cuisines. The mix of mushrooms, light spice and tingle, adds up for a perfect nostalgic winter treat. 

Ingredients 

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sake or 1tsp rice vinegar 
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 cups mixed mushrooms sliced. I like shiitake and enoki, however any assortment will work.
• 1 tsp chili and garlic paste. Option to substitute with Sriracha.
• thinly sliced green onion or chives
• light drizzle of Sesame Oil  
• light drizzle of 50Hertz Red Sichuan Pepper Oil 

Soup Base - Awase Dashi

• 4 cups of water
• 1.5 tbsp HonDashi Bonito Soup Stock. One can make a dashi from scratch with kombu (seaweed) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Alternatively use a vegetable stock or light chicken stock.  

Steps:

Preparing the Soup

1.  Start with making the dashi broth. 
2.  Once it has heated, add in the soy sauce, sake, and salt. (I use rice vinegar to substitute sake.) 
3.  Once this starts to simmer, add the mushrooms, turn off heat and cover to allow the flavors to combine for 15mins. 
4.  Add the chili and garlic paste, portion into bowls, and finish with a drizzle of sesame oil and 50Hertz Sichuan Pepper Oil. I like red, Yao prefers green. Let us know what you think!