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Spring Hon Tsai Tai & Mushroom Miso Soup

Yield

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seed oil
  • 8 oz sliced cremini or shiitake mushrooms
  • ¾ cup thinly sliced green onions (white base and green tops)
  • ½ cup thinly sliced green garlic (white base and green tops)
  • 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
  • ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1 cup finely diced rhubarb
  • 6 cups broth (vegetable, chicken or beef) or water
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 bunch hon tsai tai
  • 4-6 oz ramen or udon noodles (optional)
  • 3 Tbsp sweet white miso**

Instructions

  1. Heat the toasted sesame oil in a medium saucepot over medium heat. When the oil is warm, add the sliced mushrooms, green onions, green garlic, fresh ginger and crushed red pepper.  Stir to combine and saute until the mushrooms are soft.
  2. Add the rhubarb, broth or water, soy sauce, 1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper. Increase the heat a bit to bring the soup to a rapid simmer.  Simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. While the soup is simmering, prepare the hon tsai tai. Cut the stems into 1/8 to ¼ inch pieces.  Cut the leaves into thin strips.  If the leaves are larger, you may want to cut them in half the long way and then slice them horizontally to create smaller pieces.  Add the hon tsai tai to the soup.   Simmer for another 5-10 minutes.  If you are adding ramen or udon noodles to the soup, add them accordingly based on how much time the noodles will take to cook.
  4. Once the vegetables and noodles are tender, remove the soup from the heat and stir in the miso. Sometimes it’s easier to put the miso in a small bowl and add about ½ to ¾ cup of the hot liquid from the soup.  Stir to incorporate the miso into the liquid and then pour the hot miso liquid back into the soup pot.
  5. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding additional soy sauce, salt, and/or miso as needed.

Notes

**Miso is a fermented staple ingredient in Japanese cooking.  It adds depth of flavor to food while also contributing beneficial probiotic bacteria that are beneficial to our gut health.  If you are not familiar with this ingredient, check out this article entitled:  “What Is Miso, and How Do I Choose the Right One for What I’m Cooking?” or read more on the website for South River Miso.  You will find miso in the refrigerated section of your grocery store, often displayed near eggroll and wonton wrappers and/or other fermented foods like kim chi, sauerkraut, etc.  There are different varieties of miso.  Sweet White Miso is a good place to start as it has more of a mild flavor.  If you like more full-flavored foods, you may want to try a darker miso such as red miso or one that has been aged a little longer.  I recommend adding miso right at the end of cooking so you preserve all of the beneficial probiotic bacteria that may otherwise be killed by extended time in simmering liquid.  Miso stores for a long time in your refrigerator, so don’t worry about only using 3 Tbsp this week.  Keep it in the refrigerator with the lid tightly secured on the container and you can use it over the course of the season.

 

For more amazing recipes featuring vegetables from your CSA boxes, visit our recipe archives!

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