Sea Vegetable Soup

I had my first sea vegetable soup at House of Vegetarian on Mott in Chinatown. It was so good that I started trying to recreate it at home. After a few attempts this is what I came up with. Note: Gingko nuts are very healthful and are readily and cheaply available in Chinatown. They also grow all over NYC.

Ingredients

• 4 cups KelpShitakeStock (otherwise known as Kombu/Shitake dashi)
• 3 - 4 Shitake (fresh or dried)
• 2 - 3 different varities of sea vegetable (Laver, Dulse, Alaria, Wakame etc.)
• 1 sheet Nori
• Soy Sauce to taste. Start with about 1 Tbsp. (If available use light soy sauce as this will give the soup a more attractive color.)
• Mirin to taste. Again start with around 1 Tbsp.
• handful of Gingko Nuts (optional)
• 1 sheet dried beancurd (optional)
• or 1 block Tofu cut into 1 inch cubes (optional)

Preperation

• see KelpShitakeStock for recipe
• If using dried shitake: soak for 20 mintues then remove hard stems and slice. The soak water can be used to make the KelpShitakeStock. For fresh shitake: remove stems and slice the shitake caps. The stems can be dried and used to make shitake stock at a later time.
• Sea Vegetables (except Nori): Soak for 20 minutes, drain, rinse and slice into bite sized pieces. The soak water can be added to the KelpShitakeStock for added flavor.
• Gingko: Crack the outer shell (a pestle is a good tool for this but any heavy object will do) and remove the soft nut heart. Boil the hearts in water for a few seconds then rub the fruits against the bottom of the pot with a slotted spoon to remove the brown film covering the heart.

Method

In a medium sized pot add shitake and gingko to stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium adding the sea vegetables (except the nori) and beancurd or tofu and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add soy sauce and mirin and simmer for a further 2 or 3 minutes.

Serve in bowls and crumble nori on top.

-- DionWorkman - 09 Jan 2007