Chinese Mushroom Soup with Barley Miso

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

2 oz. dried shitake mushrooms
5 cups boiling water
2 Tbs. peanut oil
6 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp. salt
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup dry sherry
Fresh black pepper to taste
2 Tbs. cornstarch
2 cups additional water
2 Tbs. Honey
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
1 cup minced water chestnuts
12 healthy scallions, minced (keep whites and greens separate)
Chinese sesame oil
2 Tbs. barley miso
wakame

Preliminary: Place the dried mushrooms and wakame in a medium-sized bowl, and pour in 5 cups boiling water. Cover with a plate, and let stand for about 20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients. Drain the mushrooms and wakame in a colander over a bowl, squeezing out and saving all the water. Remove and discard the mushroom stems. Thinly slice the caps and set aside

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add garlic, ginger, fresh mushrooms, and salt and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat.

2. Add all remaining ingredients except the scallion greens and sesame oil. Add soaking water from shitake and wakame and barley miso – mix these three ingredients until all miso is dissolved, then add to all ingredients. Cover and simmer very gently for about 10 minutes.

3. Serve hot, topped with a few minced scallion greens and a drizzle of sesame oil.

* Recipe taken from Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen. I added the shitake, wakame, and miso – don’t be afraid to get creative!