Mushroom soup

Korean mushroom soup (Beoseot-deulkkae-tang: 버섯들깨탕) is a delicious, nutritious, savory soup made with mushrooms and perilla seeds powder. The perilla seeds powder makes the broth soft and nutty, and the beef brisket and the mushrooms are chewy, soft, and crispy, giving this soup a very unique taste and texture.

You could make it with just one kind of mushroom but I suggest you use a few different varieties so your soup has different tastes and textures. I used shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, white beech mushrooms, white mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms, but you could use any other types of mushrooms. Add a bit of beef and this becomes a nutritious, delicious, and hearty meal a family of 4 can enjoy! If you’re a vegetarian, skip the beef and use vegetable stock instead of the water.

Enjoy this soup and let me know how yours turns out if you try it!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into bite size pieces
• 8 ounces (226 grams) of beef brisket (or sirloin steak), cut into small pieces
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• a few strips of thinly sliced carrot (optional)
• ½ cup perilla seeds powder (or powdered toasted sesame seeds)
• 1 tablespoon glutinous rice flour (or rice flour, all purpose flour)
• 2 ounces (60 grams) of Asian chives (or 3-4 green onions), cut into 2 inch long
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Serves 4

1. Combine the perilla seeds powder, glutinous rice flour, and ½ cup water in a bowl. Mix it well and set aside.
2. Heat up a heavy pot and add the sesame oil, beef, and garlic. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes with a wooden spoon until the beef is no longer pink.
3. Add 4 cups of water, the mushrooms, onion, and carrot. Cover and let it cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes.
4. Open and stir. Cover and lower the heat to medium, then cook for another 15 minutes.
   
5. Stir in the fish sauce, salt, and the perilla seeds mixture. The broth will turn slightly thick and milky. Cover and let it cook for a minute over medium high heat.
6. Add the chives and stir until the chives are slightly cooked.
7. Remove from the heat and serve hot.Ponytail kimchi and kimchi