This week for Hive top chef the theme is mushrooms.
I have been getting more mushrooms lately then ever. However this time I am using easy to get mushrooms instead of rare expensive ones that I have been buying the last few weeks. I have to give my bank account a break. For this I have chosen a few mushrooms dried and fresh to make this soup. This soup is a cross between Pho and Chinese wonton soup with the addition of mushrooms. Normally the authentic soups would have meat of some kind. In this case the mushrooms will be the substitute. Pho would also have fish sauce so I added three types of seaweed to substitute. It isn't exactly fishy but adds a little sea flavor.
The broth
1 pint of cremini mushrooms
1 carrot
1 celery
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1 cup coriander stems
6 dried shitake
1 stick of kombu
1 cup of kelp shreds
1/4 cup wakame
1 star anise
6 peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon sweetener (I used agave nectar)
1 bay leaf
1 litre or more vegetable broth or water to well cover the ingredients
I used a vegetable broth for extra flavor.
First saute the onion, garlic celery and carrots then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil then simmer for around forty minutes. I had to continue the process after the electricity went out for two hours in the neighborhood.
When the broth is ready strain the vegetables out.
I kept the mushrooms and chopped them up to put back in the soup.
I was going to discard all of it but I thought why not put it back in the soup for texture.
I put the soup back in the pot to cook with the wontons and some fresh ingredients. I also added some dehydrated mushroom powder which was given to me. You can buy mushroom powder at Asian stores but I don't use those because they have yeast extract in them which is like MSG. I stay away from those things as much as possible. Not that I forbid them on certain occasions.
I added a little sesame oil for flavor.
I added fresh portabellas to add to the broth.
After chopping them up I fried them in a pan with onions,garlic and ginger then added them to the broth.
For the wontons I had to make my own wrappers which was not my intention. I bought some premade wrappers but when I got them home I read the ingredients and they had egg in them which I don't consume. I didn't want to go all the way back and get the eggless ones. I am not an expert at making these things so lets just call them rustic.
With two cups of flour I added slowly around a cup and a half of water until it was a doughy soft ball.
This was done in candlelight so I didn't have photos of the process. Just take my word for it. I finally got to the end and the electricity was back on. Great timing. I was able to get the end result. I think next time I'll just go back to the store and get the premade ones to avoid the hassle.
I kept the filling simple. I used black trumpet mushrooms and shallots.
After frying them in a pan I added a splash of rice wine and rice wine vinegar to deglaze the pan. You could use any kind of vinegar really.
I added a dash of salt and pepper as well.
Add a tablespoon of mushrooms to each wrapper.
I haven't made these very often in my life so as you can see they are not looking really professional. This is why I will call it "rustic". I need more practice.
After bringing the broth to a boil, add the wontons which were in the freezer for fifteen minutes. The homemade dough needs to stiffen a bit to not lose it's shape.
At the end I added some shredded cabbage and a cup of soft tofu. The soft tofu made it also like a hot and sour soup. I guess this was a few Asian soups in one bowl.
I garnished with pepper, radish and carrots, plus radish and pea sprouts. I added some hot sauce to my bowl.
The next day I went for leftovers and found that Marc had eaten all the wontons in the soup leaving only a little broth behind. Keep an eye on your wontons especially if you've made the wrappers painfully by hand!
Thanks for dropping by!
