Japanese Vegetable Soup

Name: Japanese Vegetable Soup (Nappei-Jiru)
Yield: Makes 8 cups (2 l); 6 first-course servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 8 large or 12 small dried shiitake mushrooms; 4 teaspoons sugar; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; ¼ cup (65 ml) soy sauce; ¾ cup (180 ml) Basic Chicken Stock or commercial chicken broth; 3 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced across on the diagonal; Two ¼- pound (120- g) pieces firm silken tofu; 2 tablespoons light soy sauce; 1 cup (225 g) cooked adzuki beans or red kidney beans, or drained and rinsed canned beans; 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or less if using commercial broth; ¼ pound (120 g) daikon [mouli], peeled and cut into ¼-inch (.5-cm) dice; 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into ¼-inch (.5-cm) dice; 6 cups (1.5 l) Basic Chicken Stock, commercial chicken broth, or Konbo Dashi; ½ cup (60 g) peeled, diced turnip

Nappei-Jiru

Preparation info

Makes 8 cups 2 l ) ;
6
first-course servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Soup

By Barbara Kafka

Published 1998

About

I often forget that tofu, or bean curd, is actually made from soybeans. When I first made this soup, adzuki beans were virtually unobtainable. I substituted kidney beans, which are the same color and have a similar flavor. While I use chicken broth, it would be more authentic—and vegetarian—to use konbu dashi.

Ingredients

For the Flavored Bean Curd

¾ cup (180 ml) Basic Chicken Stock or commercial chicken broth
¼

Asia
Japan
Starter
Stock
Soup

Method

For the tofu, in a small saucepan, bring the stock, soy sauce, and sugar to a boil. Add the tofu. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain. Cut the tofu into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes and reserve.

For the soup, soak the mushrooms in 2 cups (500