Soup’s On: Mushroom

Mushroom Soup

Soup is polarizing.  For some, it is the highlight of the meal, the perfect dish to demonstrate a chef’s ability (or lack of ability), a light lunch, or simply a comfort food to warm up on a cold day.  For others, me included, soup is overrated.  Either it’s a bland, broth-based soup with mushy vegetables or it’s an indulgent, creamy soup that makes you feel guilty.  In a restaurant, I always opt for the salad.

Prepping all the mushrooms

However, even for non-soup people like me, a soup comes along every once in a while that is the perfect combination of flavor, texture, and even healthiness.  This soup recipe, which I adapted from F&W’s Wild Mushroom Soup, turned out very well.  My friends and I love its hearty texture and earthy flavors.  As I mentioned in my previous entry on Asian cuisine, this soup also has the umami component, which comes from all the mushrooms (which deliver this type of flavor). 

I also enjoyed cooking it because you have a lot of flexibility within the recipe.  If your grocery store or farmer’s market has a good variety of mushrooms, you can pick out whatever is on sale or whichever mushrooms you love to eat.  I used a combination of white, portabella, and shiitake mushrooms, along with the some unusual ones, such as trumpet and oyster mushrooms. 

Another flexible aspect of the soup recipe is its texture.  I pureed my most recent batch only once, which made it slightly chunky.  However, if you prefer a very smooth, completely homogeneous soup, you can puree the soup again after adding the stock and water.  The viscosity of the soup is also a variable, which you can change to meet your taste.

Fresh portabellas

The only other soup I enjoy as much as this hearty mushroom soup is a well-made, roasted tomato soup.  If you have a favorite soup recipe, please post it below and I'll try it out.

Enjoy!

Mushroom Soup

(serves 6-8 bowls of soup)

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil

¼ lb. pancetta, chopped

2 pounds mixed mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced

2 medium shallots, finely chopped

1 tsp fresh thyme, minced

¼ tsp fresh sage, minced

¼ tsp fresh rosemary, minced

¼ cup Marsala

2 T. Sherry

¼ cup heavy cream

1 quart mushroom stock (or low-sodium chicken stock)

2 cups water

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chives, minced (for garnish)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil

2. Add the chopped pancetta, cooking until it’s golden brown, 5-7 minutes

3. Remove pancetta and place on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the oil (but do not clean out the oil in the pan)

4. Add mushrooms to the pot, along with salt & pepper

5. Sauté until mushrooms cook down, about 10 minutes

6. Add the shallots and fresh herbs, stir, and let cook for 3-4 minutes

7. Add the Marsala and Sherry, stir, and let it reduce by half

8. Add heavy cream and return crispy pancetta to the pot; turn off heat

9. Using a food processor, blend the mushroom mixture into a fairly smooth consistently (or more to your preference)

10. Return the pureed mushroom mixture to the pot, add the stock and water

11. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the soup reaches your desired consistency

12. Serve with fresh minced chives

Cashew Chicken

One of my favorite American-style Chinese dishes is Cashew Chicken.  A quick sauté of fresh veggies, chunks of meaty chicken, salty cashews, and piercing chili spice makes this meal ideal for impressing your guests.

The best thing about Asian stir-fry recipes is that you can choose any vegetables you have in the kitchen.  Leftover onion?  Throw it in!  Toss in your half-used peppers, mushrooms, or even things such as carrots and celery to the wok.  It's perfect for cleaning out the fridge.

Looking at the origins of my recipe, it's most closely related to the Sichuan dish, Kung Pao chicken.  Based on my research, cashews and peanuts are commonly used in the more authentic recipes (I use cashews because they're a little more indulgent).  The only thing missing from mine is the Sichuan peppercorns (gōng bǎo jī dīng).  These citrus-tasting, mouth-numbing "peppercorns" are a unique fruit of a plant that is neither a chili nor a peppercorn.  Allegedly, these little red spices prepare your palate to better experience the heat of chili peppers.  True or not, you'll definitely notice them in the dish.  If you decide to use them, make sure to toast them slightly (1 to 2 minutes) and grind to a powder.  And only use a small amount.  They easily overpower a dish.

When cooking tantalizing Asian stir-fry dishes, the critical tools are a heavy, well-crafted wok and a gas stove.  Electric stoves will get the job done, but their inability to maintain their heat source (electric stoves typically have heating cycles, heating the surface to the desired temperature and then turning off, repeating as needed) can ruin the efficacy of your wok-style cooking.  The stir-fry is all about flash-frying ingredients for only a minute or two.  If you add your cold chicken to a wok that just went into an "off" cycle on your electric stove, you'll notice the sizzle of your wok stops and only continues once the heating cycle returns the wok to the original hot temperature.

Unfortunately, if you have an electric stove, there's not much you can do about it in the short-term.  While it's not ideal, these stoves are still plenty capable of cooking up a wonderful stir-fry.  I cooked on an electric stove for years.  So don't be too discouraged.  Just something to remember when buying your next stove or signing the lease of a future apartment.  Gas is always better!

Back to the cashew chicken dish.  After gathering your wok and ingredients, the next critical step is prepping EVERYTHING before you start cooking.  A stir-fry, as mentioned, is an incredibly fast recipe.  You won't have time to mince the garlic or chop your onion partway into it.  I like to place all the prepped ingredients in little bowls and dishes, which allows you to toss in what you need at each step of the process.  But you could also leave your diced veggies on a cutting board or place them on a plate.  Another tip is to combine ingredients into each step of the process.  So if you're adding the celery and onion to the wok at the same time, you can mix these two ingredients in the same bowl.

Okay...so you have everything ready to go.  Next, heat your wok to very hot.  When you add the peanut oil, it should be almost smoking.  A very hot wok is critical to a successful stir-fry.  Next, just follow the recipe below and serve with Jasmine rice.  White rice is traditional, but I have been using brown for a couple years now due to its health benefits.


Enjoy!


Cashew Chicken Recipe (serves 4 people)

Ingredients:

¼ cup Peanut Oil

1 ½ lbs chicken breast, cut into 1” pieces

12 dried red chilies

5 slices of fresh ginger, peeled

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 can sliced water chestnuts

¼ cup cashews, roasted

3 scallions, cut into 1” pieces (green parts) and diced (white parts)

   Marinade: 1 T. corn starch, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 T. sherry, 1 tsp peanut oil

   Sauce: 3 T. light soy sauce, 2 tsp black vinegar, 1 T. dark soy sauce, ½ cup water,

                           2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp corn starch

Prepared white or brown Jasmine rice

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator

2. Heat work, add 1 T. of vegetable oil until very hot

3. Add chicken, stir well, cook about 2/3 of the way through; remove from wok

4. Clean out wok, add 2 T. of vegetable oil, heat again until very hot

5. Add chilies, garlic, and ginger; sauté for 30 seconds

6. Add onion and celery; sauté for 3-5 minutes, until onions begin to soften

7. Return the chicken to the wok, stir.  Sauté for 1-2 minutes

8. Add cashews and chestnuts, stir

9. Add scallions and sauce, stir

10. Serve over steamed rice