Crunchy Hot Mushroom Water

I asked Logan to name this soup, and he came up with the above. I'm pretty sure the scoreboard there reads half Arrested Development reference, half insult.

But believe it or not, he loved it. He even pouted a little when I said I didn't make enough for seconds.

I loved it, too. This soup--full of nondescriptly Asian, slurpy broth and crispety rice--was a big bowl of white girl satisfaction, inauthentic as it may have been. Maybe it's my California roots that make me so comfortable with the concept of fusion, no matter the level of artistry (or lack thereof, in this case) involved.

I can't lie: This soup came from me craving totally vague East Asian flavors. A heavy dose of umami, spice, ginger...MSG? I kinda just went to town with a combo of everything I like. This would never be served in any restaurant because it's a jumbled bunch of nonsense. But as nonsense goes? To my taste, this soup is Edward Lear.  fish fiddle de-dee. 

The real stand-out element here is the crunchy rice. I considered frying the rice to puff it and get a sizzling rice effect, but decided that with all the creamy soups lately (and Hello Honey in the freezer) I'd be fine without a snapcracklepop. Besides, this baked rice really keeps it crispy (sigh Pete Holmes) throughout the entire meal--a feat that was both improbable and impressive. The rice takes on a nutty flavor when you bake it, which is totally gluttony-inducing. I found myself greedily snatching up the wee grains that stayed on the baking sheet before I cleaned up.

To make this soup, I read a few different broth recipes (some Chinese, some Japanese) and then just did what sounded good to me -- using whatever I could gather from my pantry raid. I tasted as I went until I struck upon the exact taste I wanted. That's the nice thing about not following a recipe--if you can find the taste you want, you're never doing it wrong.

This makes a big (but not in a gross way) meal for two--about two cups of soup each to serve in nice big bowls, plus just the perfect amount of rice.

Crunchy Rice in Mushroom Broth
Rice technique taken from this recipe from The Healthy Helping
Two big servings (or four little ones, I suppose)

GET THIS STUFF

1/2 c sprouted brown rice
grapeseed oil
a handful of mixed dried wild mushrooms
1 cube vegetable bouillon
1 package white button mushrooms, stems and caps separated, caps sliced
1 yellow onion, skin left on, quartered 
4 scallions, bottom inch chopped off and reserved, tops sliced
4 Thai chili peppers, sliced in half lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 strip of kombu 
soy sauce
rice vinegar
1 tsp sambal oelek 
2 c fresh baby spinach, julienned
1 carrot, julienned
1/2 orange bell pepper, julienned
toasted sesame oil

DO THIS WITH IT

Cook brown rice according to package directions. 
Rub a cookie sheet with a little grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil), and heat oven to 400 F.
Spread rice in a thin layer on cookie sheet--you're looking for even distribution as you make one big cake of crispy rice.
Bake for about 40 minutes--checking to avoid burning. You want the rice to be dried out and for it to break apart like a crunchy granola bar. 

Meanwhile, make your broth. Bring 6 c water to boil with the dried mushrooms. 
Turn heat off and let mushrooms sit about 10 minutes, until reconstituted.
Remove mushrooms with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add vegetable bouillon cube, mushroom stems, scallion bottoms, onion, ginger, kombu, garlic and Thai chili, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Thinly slice your reserved wild mushrooms.
In a small frying pan, heat a dash of grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. 
Throw in sliced white mushrooms and wild mushrooms with the sambal oelek and a dash of soy sauce, and fry until cooked through with some nice color on the white mushrooms. 

Use a fine mesh strainer to strain your broth into a clean bowl, then return it to the pot and to medium-low heat. 
Add carrot, bell pepper, spinach cooked mushrooms and most of the sliced scallion tops. 
Add a splash of soy sauce and a dash of rice vinegar, tasting until you hit the flavor you want. 

To serve, divide into two big bowls. Top with broken up islands of crunch rice and a light sprinkling of sliced scallions, plus a few drops of sesame oil.