Warm up from the inside out this winter with this northern Chinese-inspired soup. Dried shiitake mushrooms give incredible depth of flavor. Served with rice noodles (made separately), this soup is versatile, filling and easy to make!
I came across Martin Yan’s Vegetable Egg-Drop Soup years ago and fell in love with the colors and simplicity of the recipe. With a few easy modifications to suit our dietary needs, it quickly became a favorite in my home. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Gluten free, plant based, vegan, allium free (no onions, no garlic) and, using coconut aminos instead of soy-sauce, it’s soy-free as well!
Let’s begin!
Rinse off the dried shiitake mushrooms and soak in 1.5 cups of hot water until they are softer (about 10 minutes).
Note: Dry shiitakes are generally soaked for ~20 minutes in hot water to achieve the desired consistency. However, the cooking time associated with this recipe helps cut the soaking time down a bit.
Set 4 cups broth to boil in a lidded stock pot. Substitute water and 1/2 tsp of salt if needed.
Finely grate or mince the ginger. I use a microplane or zester to avoid introducing the ‘stringiness’ of ginger into the soup.
Coarsely chop the cabbage, diagonally slice the carrots and celery, and cut the zucchini in rounds or semi-circles depending on the size of the other vegetables. The general rule of thumb is to chop everything into 1″ size pieces. I go a lot smaller to suit our needs.
Strain the shiitake mushrooms and add the soaking liquid to the pot. Remove the stems and slice the mushrooms.
Once the broth/water comes to a boil, add the cabbage, carrots and shiitake mushrooms. Cover the lid and boil for 5 minutes.
Add the celery and zucchini to the pot. Lower to a low-medium heat, cover and simmer for 2 minutes more.
Add the coconut aminos (a soy sauce substitute), rice vinegar and toasted sesame oil. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes more.
Remove from heat and serve!
Brothy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups broth (Substitute water and 1/2 tsp salt)
- 1.5 cups water (hot)
- 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed
- 1.5 cups cabbage, chopped coarsely
- 1 cup carrots, sliced diagonally (1/2″ to 1″ pieces)
- 1 cup celery, sliced diagonally (1/2″ to 1″ pieces)
- 1 cup zucchini, sliced in rounds (1/2″ pieces)
- 2-3 tbsp ginger
- 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms and soak in 1.5 cups of hot water until soft. This will take about 10 minutes depending on the heat of the water.
- Bring 4 cups broth to boil in a lidded stock pot. Substitute water with 1/2 tsp salt.
- Finely grate or mince the ginger. I use a microplane or zester to do this quickly without getting any stringy/fibrous ginger chunks.
- Prepare the vegetables. Coarsely chop the cabbage into 1″ pieces. Diagonally slice the carrots and celery into pieces (1/2″ to 1″ pieces). Slice a thin zucchini into 1/2″ rounds. If you have a thicker zucchini, simply slice the rounds in half to reduce their size.
- Strain the shiitake mushrooms. Add the soaking water to the pot. Slice the mushrooms thinly.
- Once the broth/water mixture comes to a boil, add cabbage*, carrots and mushrooms. Cover and cook at a medium-heat for 2 minutes.
- Add zucchini and celery. Lower the temperature, cover and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and coconut aminos. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes more.
- Remove from heat. Serve.
Notes
Updated on 12/16/18 with higher resolution images. Updated recipe notes on 3/11/19.
