My Dad was stationed in Japan in the late Fifties. He fell in love with everything: the country, the people, the language . . . and the food!
He had me counting in Japanese when I was just san (three), and he had me eating sushi well before it was popular.
So when I create Japanese food, I always think of my Dad.
I am sure he will love this soup. While it’s not an authentic Japanese soup, it absolutely represents some of the wonderfully delicious Asian flavors my Dad and I love so much.
The dish features a nice bit of Gai Lan (Asian Broccoli), which I received from Jade Asian Greens. I hadn’t tried this before and — oh my! — is it fantastic! In this soup, the stems provide the perfect green crunch, while the leaves wilt and become slightly sweet.
And this is my favorite type of dish — a nice, calming bowl of highly flavorful comfort! Even though spring has sprung, there’s still a chill in the air and this is the perfect meal to keep you warm this weekend.
My favorite part about eating in Japanese restaurants with my Dad is that he speaks Japanese so well. He lights up when he orders his meal in Japanese with his still-perfect accent.
My dad when he was twenty-four years old in 1959 in Kagoshima, Japan. The women were quite impressed that he was studying his Japanese dictionary.
Recipe
Grapeseed oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
4 ounces shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry sherry
6 ounces Gai Lan or Rapini, washed, dried, and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup light or white miso paste (Shiro-Miso)
4 1/2 cups light vegetable stock
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
3 ounces rice noodles
3 ounces enoki mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon chili paste (Sambal Oelek is perfect)
4 eggs
Togarashi
- Coat a medium-sized soup pot with a bit of grape seed oil and place it over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook just until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the shitake mushrooms and let them begin to brown, about 4 more minutes. Then deglaze the pan with the sherry and turn the heat up a bit. Use a flat bottomed, wooden spatula to scrape any bits of the ingredients that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan, back into the mixture. (These bits are delicious!)
- Add the Gai Lan or Rapini, followed by the miso paste, stock, vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir to combine, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
- Add the noodles, turn the heat to a simmer and cook for about 4 minutes or so. Stir in the enoki mushrooms, sugar and chili paste. Now bring the soup to a very strong simmer and crack 4 eggs into it. Cook them for about 3 minutes. The whites should be white and the yolk still soft.
- Serve each portion of soup with a poached egg and sprinkle with Togarashi.
Notes
Togarashi is a Japanese spice blend that typically includes red chili pepper, black pepper, sesame seeds, dried mandarin orange peel, green nori seaweed flakes, ginger, hemp seeds and poppy seeds. A sprinkling of Togarashi adds great heat!
I love rice noodles which happen to be gluten-free, but Soba or Udon noodles would also be lovely in this soup.
This is not a sponsored post.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Chef Valentina, you have done it again. This looks like a big bowl o’ slurpy goodness, with lots of different flavors and textures. Can we just say yum? Thanks for using our Gai Lan in a wonderful way!
–Your friendly farmers at Jade Asian Greens
https://www.facebook.com/Jade.Asian.Greens
Jim looks hot!!
Oh my…that photograph looks soooo perfectly posed. like a photographer for TIME. amazing picture. you are lucky to have it!
Miso, noodles and a poached egg? Sounds like my type of dish! That’s amazing that your dad is still fluent in Japanese.
GREAT SURVIVAL RECIPE, VALENTINA. I THINK I COULD
LIVE ON IT FOREVER!
Thank you, Linda! I could, too! xo