JAPANESE DUMPLING SOUP

JAPANESE DUMPLING SOUP image

Yield 4

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon mirin
4 dried shitake mushrooms
6 cups vegetable stock
2 tablespoons tamari
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 cup burdock, peeled and julienned
8-10 small frozen vegetable dumplings
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons sesame chili oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
fresh cilantro

Steps:

Heat sesame oil in a medium sauce pot. Add onion and salt and saute 2 minutes until onions begins to soften. Add garlic and ginger. Saute another 2 minutes. Add mirin to deglaze the pot, making sure to dislodge and pieces that are caramelized on the bottom. Add vegetable stock and dried mushrooms to the pot and raise heat. Bring stock to a simmer and allow mushrooms to cook about 5 minutes, or until soft. Remove mushrooms, squeezing out excess stock. Remove their stems and slice thinly. Return sliced mushrooms to the pot. In the meantime, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add tamari, carrots and burdock to the stock. When water has come to a boil, add vegetable dumplings. Simmer according to package instructions and remove to soup bowls. Add chili oil and sesame oil to stock. Adjust seasoning to taste. Ladel stock and vegetables over dumplings. Garnish with sesame seeds, cilantro and a little extra sesame oil.