Mushroom Ginger Miso Soup

This is an outstanding recipe folks – we are talking restaurant style flavor profile. A delicious creamy mushroom soup enhanced with the flavors of ginger, garlic and miso.

About the recipe

I love miso and I do like mushrooms, but honestly never thought of combining these two in a creamy soup, until now.

Miso is the flavor in this soup

I’ve had miso soup many times, but to use miso as a flavor enhancer in a creamy soup? Never tried that before. I love Japanese food and miso is one of my favorite flavors, so I kind of knew this would taste good, but really not sure – you know what I mean? I found this recipe on Martha Stewart.com and was curious to try it out. When I shared it with my daughter Anjali she thought it made perfect sense …

“You know Mom, inJapanese food they usually add mushrooms for earthy flavor, so it makes sense that miso would go really well in a creamy mushroom soup. I see miso being used in many dishes nowadays in fusion cuisine- people have started using it in not just Japanese food any more .”

Go figure! I had no idea!

Delicious soup for a light lunch or dinner

This soup is so good folks that we felt like we were having a special restaurant style soup. We had it with a boiled egg and then ended with an apple for a light dinner. Try it also with farm bread for a delicious out of the ordinary Sunday soup day.

Three easy steps

This soup is really easy to make.

First cook the mushrooms – not in oil! Something new I learnt with this recipe. They require you to cook the mushrooms just with salt.
Then add the oil, green onions, garlic, miso, and ginger. Cook until fragrant and add broth and bring to a low simmer.
Purée in a blender and bring back to the stove and simmer with the coconut milk and stir in. That’s it. Soup is ready! A delicious soup in less than 30 minutes.

Mushroom Miso Soup
From: https://www.marthastewart.com/1552338/coconut-miso-mushroom-soup
with a few modifications

Ingredients

12 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, thinly sliced about 4 cups
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 scallions, white and light-green parts chopped (1/2 cup), plus tops thinly sliced on the bias for serving. Or add 1 onion finely cut
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (from a 2-inch piece)
1 tablespoon minced garlic. I added 2 tbsp for extra garlic fragrance
1 1/2 tablespoon white or yellow miso
3 cups vegetable broth, plus more as needed
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
Drizzle of honey – don’ skip the honey! It adds a delicate sweet dimension to offset the saltiness of the miso

Directions:

Step 1Cook mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large, dry saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms collapse, darken slightly, and most of moisture cooks out, 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 2Add oil and chopped scallions or onions; cook until tender, 1-2 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth and miso; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Step 3 In a blender puree mushroom mixture (work in two batches, if needed). Purée until very smooth, removing blender cap and covering hole with a folded kitchen towel to allow steam to escape.

Step 4Return mixture to saucepan and add the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. If a thinner soup is desired, stir in more broth, a little at a time. Taste and season with extra salt if needed and white pepper. Drizzle with honey about 1-2 tsp and stir into the soup. Soup is ready.