Japanese Mushroom Vermicelli Soup

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This Japanese vermicelli soup recipe features shiitake and enoki mushrooms, tofu, green onions, and rice vermicelli noodles with a rich and delicious broth infused with miso, mirin and sake.  It comes together in just 10 minutes and is as elegant as it is delicious!

Simple and simply wonderful.  That’s the best way to describe this Japanese mushroom vermicelli soup made in just under 10 minutes.  Shiitake mushrooms, soft tofu, and rice vermicelli form the bulk of this soup along with green onions and delicate enoki mushrooms.  Everything is simmered in a mirin-sake infused broth and served piping hot.

Ingredients

Shiitake mushrooms are especially flavorful but if you have difficulty sourcing them you can substitute another mushroom of your choice. The other mushrooms in this soup are enoki mushrooms. They have got to be the cutest members of the fungi family!  They’re long, white, tender and thin with delicate little caps and are ideal for soups and salads.   Enoki mushrooms can be found in the produce section of Asian grocery stores.  Some well-stocked grocery stores carrying specialty items may also have them.  They come in little plastic packages as seen below and are generally very inexpensive.

From silken/soft to firm, you can use any tofu of your choice depending on your texture preference. Likewise you can use your choice of miso, white and red being the most common in soups. White miso/shiro miso is the mildest and has a very pleasant flavor (that’s what I’m using) while red miso/aka miso is fermented longer and has a more robust flavor. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you can substitute vegetable broth. Rice vermicelli is naturally gluten-free and this soup is also dairy-free.

This Japanese mushroom soup is extremely quick to prepare.  It’s perfect for a busy weekday evening but is equally suitable for a dinner party. You’ll love the flavors of this warming soup and will be amazed how quickly it all comes together!

Japanese Mushroom Vermicelli Soup Recipe

Let’s get started!

Carefully clean the shiitake mushrooms and discard the stems.  Thinly slice them.  Cut about 1 inch off the bottom stems of the enoki mushrooms and discard.  Cut the remaining stack in half so you’re left with approximately 1 1/2 inch length stems.  Drain the tofu and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.

Cellophane noodles, also called Chinese Vermicelli, are used in this soup.  They expand considerably so you only need a little over an ounce.  They can be purchased at any Asian store or in the Asian section of well-stocked grocery stores.

To prepare the base broth, bring the chicken broth to a simmer along with the soy sauce, mirin and sake.  Simmer for a couple of minutes. (Mirin and sake will give you the best flavor but if you don’t have either here are a couple of quick substitutes:  For the mirin use sherry and a dash of sugar and for the sake use white wine and a dash of rice vinegar.)  

Add the shiitake and enoki mushrooms, the tofu and vermicelli, and simmer for another 5-6 minutes.

Add the green onions and miso and simmer for another 2 minutes.

That’s it.  Ultra fast and simple, but oh so yummy!

Enjoy!

For more Japanese recipes be sure to try my:

• Chicken Teriyaki
• Teriyaki Salmon
• Teriyaki Tofu
• Ponzu Sauce 
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Yum Yum Sauce 
• Ginger Sauce
• Eel Sauce
• Shichimi Togarashi 
• Gomasio 

Originally published on The Daring Gourmet February 16, 2013