Help me punch up my soup for New Year's dinner

December 31, 2018 3:59 PM

I'm making this soup for dinner tonight. I would like to keep it subtle but maybe increase some of the depth of flavor. Any ideas on how to make it pop a little more?
posted by Carillon to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Response by poster: Oh it doesn't have to be vegetarian do there's no restrictions there.
posted by Carillon at 3:59 PM on December 31, 2018

Fish sauce? I use it for that specific purpose in many soups. Start with small amounts.

I can't say for sure this will work because I've never had the soup in question but, worth a try. Be aware that most fish sauce is very salty, thus the suggestion to start with small amounts.
posted by some loser at 4:18 PM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

If not vegetarian, maybe some bone-in chicken? Dried red dates and gogi berries could work as well, similar to some Chinese soups.
posted by inevitability at 4:27 PM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

Try a small portion with a little squeeze of lemon or lime. It doesn't seem to have much of a "sour" component from the major 4 (sweet, sour, salt, bitter), plus many people enjoy lemon with tea or lime in many Asian soups.

Other than that, the recipe seems to glory in its simplicity; the very fact that it's so minimal makes it special.

I'd pay special attention to what's served on the side,. The soup looks very light and not starchy, so maybe a noodle, dumpling, or sticky rice dish on the side, something heavy but in small quantities, would be go. Maybe fried won tons or Thai fried tofu or a citrusy fried rice dish.
posted by amtho at 4:27 PM on December 31, 2018 [4 favorites]

Maybe a little splash of sherry?
posted by The otter lady at 4:48 PM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

The only acidity in the dish is coming from the browning on the mushrooms and what there is in the smokiness of the tea and that's going to be super subtle. You could probably punch that up a bit with some sparingly applied citrus zest or maybe a little squeeze of juice onto the bok choy after cooking it.

I like the idea of rice on the side, perhaps in the form of small rice balls that you've toasted, to compliment the mushrooms.
posted by Mizu at 4:56 PM on December 31, 2018

I would go for a bit of miso paste to keep it in a similar flavor family. You could also try subbing dashi stock for some or all of the water. Don't go to wild tho, those mushrooms are a flavor unto themselves and will benefit from a subtle background.
posted by ananci at 5:03 PM on December 31, 2018 [7 favorites]

I've never had this particular mushroom before but in general you've got a couple of flavors happening here: smoky (from the tea) and umami (from the tamari + mushroom). You can dial that up a bit by adding in something smoky and meaty (ham hock or bacon) which will also add fat (which adds flavor). I'd take it easy here though because you can probably be overpowering if you're too heavy-handed. Cut it with something acidic, maybe a little red wine vinegar or a citrus squeeze. Cara cara oranges are in season.

For the recipe itself that step 5 is bonkers. Reheat in the microwave? No, just time things better.
posted by axiom at 5:12 PM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you want to be extra, I feel like roasted garlic would be a good flavor in here, but I’m not sure what the best way to add it would be other than smeared on crostini.
posted by Night_owl at 5:22 PM on December 31, 2018 [1 favorite]

A bit of grated fresh ginger in the broth plus something bright to finish, like the citrus many people have suggested or perhaps some cilantro leaves. Other things that come to mind are red chile flakes and pickled radishes.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:21 PM on December 31, 2018 [3 favorites]

Parmesan rind.
posted by bz at 6:25 PM on December 31, 2018 [2 favorites]

I would steep some mugicha (roast barley) tea until it's a nice light-medium brown and then add to the soup for a clean but toasty flavor. Use a little bit of lemon zest rather than juice to get an essence and then take it out - you want delicacy for this.
posted by yueliang at 1:35 AM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Anytime you see water in a recipe you can replace with chicken or vegetable or mushroom stock for free flavor.

Some sake or mirin added early would be good too.
posted by ftm at 6:28 AM on January 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Too late to do this for your dinner, but if you make this recipe in the future, I'm in agreement that you need a sour component or something citrusy to brighten up the flavors. Like many suggested, I also recommend a finish with a squeeze of lemon/lime. Something you could do in addition is this... use tamarind water. Sounds exotic if you've never done it, but is totally worth it to add depth to soups. If you have an international/asian market nearby, you should be able to find wet seedless tamarind, no problem.
posted by pdxhiker at 11:04 PM on January 1, 2019

Citrus is one of the classic punch-up ingredients. In small amounts it doesn't even taste noticeably citrusy, it just makes everything else brighter and more lively.
posted by oblique red at 9:24 AM on January 2, 2019