Tomato Mountain

Spicy mushroom miso soup

The time has probably come for me to consider investing in a new camera, as this EXTREMELY DELICIOUS DISH is not particularly well-photographed. 

All that aside, let’s talk about what’s in it.

About 2 cups of vegetable broth (I’m using stuff I made a few weeks ago with some dregs of the fall season that has been stored in my freezer).

A cup of water

About a teaspoon of miso (I actually used a tablespoon, which made this dish a little bit of a salt bomb on my system)

A similar amount of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce if you’re not a convert to Bragg’s yet. It’s seriously way tastier and healthier.)

A ton of shredded ginger (about the size of a human thumb’s worth of ginger) (sorry, that’s gross)

5-6 cloves roasted garlic (I happened to have some that I roasted up for a totally sweet event thrown by Graze Magazine last night; use 1-2 cloves minced raw garlic if you’d rather, but do it based on your taste)

1 tablespoon of hot chili paste (I still have some Danger Sauce that I forgot to blog about in September. It’s literally just a bunch of fresh hot peppers packed into a food processor with just enough oil to let them blend. They’ve been keeping magnificently in the fridge. Anyway, do this based on taste as well, but don’t be stingy if you are trying to destroy the cold that has recently taken hold of you a week before your big vacation.)

A tablespoon of something sweet (I have a jar of Sungold tomato preserves that I dropped and which popped open [sorry, Robin] a number of weeks ago, so those work great. You could also use a sweet chili sauce like Mae Ploy, honey or agave nectar.)

About a dozen crimini mushrooms (preferably acquired from River Valley. Sliced somewhat thin.)

About a fourth of a normal package of angel hair pasta (I had a bunch around from last night!)

A good spray of lime juice (to taste) 

First, if you haven’t already boiled the pasta, do it!

Start off the soup by adding the broth to your big soup-makin’ wok or whatever you have. Add the miso and Bragg’s/soy sauce, then cut it with the water to get the saltiness right. Add most of the ginger, chili paste and sweet thing. Stir it around to get it nice and tasty (two or three or four minutes), then add the mushrooms. Let it simmer for about 2 or 3 minutes, then add the cooked pasta. Let simmer for another 5 minutes or so - try the mushrooms to make sure they are ridiculously tasty. They will be very mushroomy. Spray liberally with lime juice and add the last of the ginger for a funky fresh taste.

Get some chopsticks to pull out the noodles and pour some of the broth into the bowl. This would be good with some cubed tofu and minced scallions and crushed peanuts, but my main goal here was a delicious spiciness delivery system, and it worked.

This definitely makes enough to serve two people, but I’m sick and I’m cranky and I want more spicy food, so I’m probably going to go back for more right about now.

- Sean