Mushroom Soup Using Shio Koji
This thick, hearty mushroom soup is deeply flavorful, with shio koji adding umami and sweetness as its enzymes gently break down the soup during resting.
Ingredients
- 385 g (2.4 cups) onions
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) oil
- 15 g (0.5 oz) butter
- 305 g (3.2 cups) mushrooms (You can use multiple kinds or just one kind.)
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) shio koji
- 350 ml (1.5 cups) milk
- 10 g (0.4 oz) consomme or stock powder (Use any you like.)
directions
- First, we will cook the onions. Chop them up using a food processor or a knife so that they will cook faster and more evenly.
- Heat up a pan with a large flat surface over low heat, then add some oil and/or butter, I'm using both here, and then add the chopped onion. And we will let that cook slowly for about 30 minutes until the onion becomes golden brown. We want to bring out that sweetness from the onions. Stir occasionally to prevent burns.
- While the onion is cooking, let's prepare the mushrooms. Use any kind of mushrooms. You can use multiple kinds like I'm doing here, or you can use just one kind. Chop them up into little pieces so they will cook faster and more evenly.
- Okay, the onions are nicely cooked, let's go ahead and add the mushrooms. Cook them over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. This will let the water from the mushrooms evaporate and intensify the flavors.
- Then stop the heat and add cold milk and some consomme or some kind of stock powder.
- Then transfer this mixture into a blender and blend it until smooth.
- Then transfer the mixture back into the pan. Still no heat because we want to let it cool and rest for a while.
- Check the soup's temperature; if it's below 60 °C (140 °F), add some shio koji. We needed the soup to be cool enough so that we don't kill the enzymes in shio koji. Give it a mix, and let it just sit for a while, for 30 minutes or longer. Shio koji will not only season the soup but also break down the soup during this resting time and bring out umami and sweetness.
- Okay, the soup has rested and it's time to serve. Let's warm it up. Check the taste and see if you need any adjustments. You might want to add more milk to make it looser, or cook it a little longer to make it thicker, or you might want to add shio koji and black pepper. It's up to you. Mine was perfect for me as it was, so I didn't add anything here. The soup is ready. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to adjust the ingredient amounts to your taste.
- What Is Shio Koji? (The Complete Guide)
- How to Make Shio Koji (Recipe)
- Shio koji products: - If You Are Outside of Japan Shio koji by marukome 200g (7.05 ounce): https://geni.us/8vWX0vj Shio koji by marukome 500g (17.6 ounce): https://geni.us/tIoxH2b - If You Are in Japan Shio koji by marukome 500g (17.6 ounce) x 2: https://geni.us/Kbbw0C
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Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 436kcalCarbohydrates: 38.6gProtein: 14gFat: 27.1gSaturated Fat: 8.6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4.7gMonounsaturated Fat: 11.9gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 38.3mgSodium: 1983.1mgPotassium: 1060.8mgFiber: 4.8gSugar: 20.7gVitamin A: 483.7IUVitamin C: 17.4mgCalcium: 275.6mgIron: 1.2mg