Asian Chicken Noodle and Wild Mushroom Soup

I found these oyster mushrooms yesterday while walking the dog and the whole reason for starting a blog was immediately  reinforced; I get to share them with you!

I started gathering a few years ago, my gateway species was ramps. Looking for wild mushrooms for me has some of the excitement of hunting but easier since they sit still and you don’t need a gun. I decided to learn about mushrooms the last really rainy summer we had since they were popping up everywhere and the park was filled with people picking mushrooms, I mean five gallon buckets filled with mushrooms. One gentleman was kind enough to explain what he was gathering and how he identified them, but I never felt confident enough to trust what I was picking. So I got a book or two, began looking around on Youtube, and went on a few gathering walks with Steve Brill (a.k.a. Wildman). It turns out Steve lives around the corner from me so I was able to bring some of my earliest finds to him for verification and peace of mind before feeding them to my family.  If you do decide to gather wild mushrooms, educate yourself thoroughly and take no chances.

In addition to amazing depths of flavor, wild mushrooms can be incredibly aromatic.  (Sometimes you can smell black trumpets in the woods before you can see them.)  These oyster mushrooms were so fragrant they overpowered the smell of wet dog on the ride home.  This soup is one of my favorite uses for oyster mushrooms so as soon as I spotted them I knew I would be making this for dinner.

This soup changes a little from year to year depending upon which vegetables I am keeping around.  Right now I seem to always have baby bok choy on hand so in they went. If there is a zucchini around it might end up in there, likewise for a leek or snow peas or sugar snap peas.  Feel free to toss in what you have around.  You can use left-over cooked chicken or even omit the chicken entirely and make it with tofu for a vegetarian version. Don’t feel like you need to go out and buy wild oyster mushrooms, it works with crimini, shitaki, even white mushrooms will work in a pinch.  But you get the idea – it is a forgiving pot of soup which is the best kind.

2 teaspoons (10 mL) oil
1 pound (453 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs
1-2″  (5 cm) piece ginger root, peeled and cut into fine julienne or finely chopped
1- large carrot,  julienned or sliced thin
1- large rib celery,  julienned or sliced thin
8 ounces (225 g) mushrooms sliced, or if you are using oyster mushrooms, cut into pieces
1- large clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 mL) mirin, or sherry
4 cups (1 L) chicken stock or vegetable stock, reduced sodium
3 baby bok choy  (8 oz./ 225 g) cut into bite size pieces, rinsed and spun dry
3 scallions, sliced thin (white and green parts)
1/3 cup (80 mL) slightly packed cilantro leaves (or more if you like cilantro)
2 tablespoons (15 mL) Tamari Soy Sauce, or regular soy sauce
2 teaspoons (10 mL) sesame oil
8 ounces (225 g) broad egg noodles

1. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Pat them dry and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a large-ish pot (4 quarts or larger) over medium high to high heat.  Cook the thighs until nicely browned and cooked through.  (About 10 – 15 minutes.)  Set the chicken aside while you proceed with the rest of the soup. While the chicken is cooking, set a pot of water on the stove to boil for the noodles.
2. Add the ginger to the oil in the pot. Cook the ginger, stirring until it is very fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the carrot and celery and cook until the carrot is slightly softened and the celery is slightly transparent, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the Mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring until the mushrooms are softened (about 5 minutes,depending upon how large the pieces are.)
5. Add the Aji Mirin, bring to a boil, and scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
6. Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes or so until the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked. While the soup is simmering, cut the chicken into bite size pieces, drop the noodles into the pot of boiling water and cook the noodles.
7. Stir the chicken and bok choy into the soup and cook for a minute or two.
8. Add the sliced scallions, cilantro leaves, soy sauce and sesame oil and remove from the heat. Drain the noodles.
9. To serve: divide the noodles between 4 deep bowls, then ladle the soup over the noodles.