This healing broth is earthy from the mushrooms, sweet from butternut squash and spicy from a hit of sambal oelek, an Indonesian chili paste (or a large dollop of it, in my case). I adapted it from a similar recipe for Udon with Mushroom Broth, Cabbage, and Yams in Bon Appetit.
I changed some of the ingredients, though the base of the soup is the same. I use brown rice noodles instead of udon, simply because I love brown rice noodles. I use butternut squash instead of yams, but they’re really equivalent. And my recipe excluded the cabbage, snow peas and tofu—though each is easily added back in.
This recipe has multiple steps, though the sweet and earthy mushroom broth that you get is well worth it! And you can make the broth up to 1 day ahead. Members of my family who don’t like mushrooms were gulping up this broth!
The necessary tools for this recipe are a couple pots and a strainer. Enjoy, and leave a comment below if you try it!
The name says it all: the perfect mushroom noodle soup for those cold, winter nights
15 Minutes
50 Minutes
1 Hour 5 Minutes
Step 1
Make the broth base. Bring vegetable broth and 3 cups water to a simmer in large pot over medium heat. Add cilantro, mushrooms, 3/4 cup of sliced ginger and lemongrass. Cover and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 30 minutes. Rinse kombu; add to broth. Simmer 1 minute. Using tongs to remove kombu and mushrooms. Discard the kombu and transfer the mushrooms to a cutting board. Remove and discard the stems. Cut each mushroom into 3 or 4 long strips. Strain broth through a fine-mesh strainer into another large pot; discard all solids in the strainer. Add 2 tsp tamari and the rice vinegar to the broth. Cover and chill mushrooms. Cool, cover, and chill the broth while you make the soup add-ins. Again, the broth can be made a day ahead.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook butternut squash until just tender, not soft, about 5-10 minutes. Using a skimmer, transfer the squash to a medium bowl. Add the carrots until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Use the skimmer to transfer the carrots to a different bowl. Reserve cooking liquid used to cook the vegetables. These vegetables can be cooked 2 hours ahead. Let vegetables and cooking liquid stand at room temperature.
Step 3
When you’re ready to eat, make the noodles. Bring cooking liquid to boil. Sprinkle with salt. Add brown rice noodles, and cook according to package instructions until al dente (still firm to bite), stirring often. Drain and rinse with cool water to halt cooking.
Step 4
Meanwhile, remove the vegetable broth from the fridge, place it on the stove and bring it to a simmer. Add green onions and ginger strips. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 5
Using tongs, divide noodles among bowls. Divide mushrooms, squash and carrots among bowls, each in separate mound. Ladle broth over and serve, adding sambal oelek and tamari to taste..
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