This soup is a true warming comfort. It is a little bit ironic that I’m posting it on a [technically] first day of the spring, but I have to share this with you. Mild yet full of flavour, root vegetables cooked to perfection is a perfect meal for a chilly evening. Originally created as a Buddhist temple food this soup is vegan and true winter delight.
Tips and insights:
- feel free to add some extra root vegetables of your liking
- I suggest to not skip the daikon as it adds on quite a bit of flavour
- you can skip sake and instead add a tablespoon of mirin
- make this soup playful by cutting patterns out of the carrot
- use shiitake mushrooms that are left from making dashi
- I like to eat this soup with a dash of chilli oil and fresh or dried herbs
- if you have dashi prepared, you can skip the first step
You will need:
- For the broth:
- ~30g sheet of kombu seaweed
- 3 large shiitake mushrooms
- .
- For soup:
- 180g firm tofu
- 1 carrot
- 1 if small, 1/2 if large daikon (300-400g)
- 1 if large, 2 if small turnip (around 300g)
- 3tbsp sake
- 2tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2tsp salt
- sesame oil
What to do?
- soak kombu and mushrooms in 2l of water. After couple of hours, simmer them in low- medium heat for half an hour. Remove the kombu and mushrooms. Use mushrooms for the soup.
- cut vegetables in pieces, tear tofu apart to chunks - it is better thank cutting because it will absorb more flavour.
- heat a little bit of oil in a pan and fry vegetables for 15-20 min. Add a splash of toasted sesame oil and pour the broth over the veggies.
- simmer for a half an hour and add the remaining ingredients.
- check - once all the veggies are soft, the soup is ready to go!
- serve it with fresh spring onion, dried herbs, chilli oil, or crushed sesame seeds or just have it as it is!
Enjoy!
Notes:
Do not fry vegetables directly on toasted sesame oil as it starts to burn quickly.