I remember the first time I heard the word umami. I was in my high school years, watching the Food Network, as you do, and Bobby Flay said "umami,", like, I don't know, a hundred times. It came off as pretentious, and my thought was that Bobby Flay was just flaunting his culinary prowess by using some obscure adjective. Several years would go by before I realized that Mr. Flay was not trying to be a show off, but using the only proper terminology that we have in America to accurately describe a unique profile within our sense of taste that is the foundation of Japanese cuisine.
Umami is the "fifth taste," the other four being sweet, salt, sour, and bitter. The best way I can think to describe umami is by being unapologetically savory, or a harmonious marriage of the other four flavor profiles to the point where they are indistinguishable. Many maps of the taste receptors actually indicate that umami lives in the center of the tongue, where as sweet is at the tip, bitter lives in the back, and salt and sour straddle the sides. Umami is activated by the presence of glutamates, which are found in a unique variety of foods: mushrooms, tomatoes, parmesan cheese (and its vegan replacement, nutritional yeast), seafood, and many Asian cooking ingredients such as miso, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and clam sauce. And, of course, monosodium glutamate, or MSG, whose controversy is rooted solely in racist propaganda (look it up! MSG is safe!)
As I learned about umami, I became fascinated by how a huge variety of foods share a commonality, even though they don't have much in common in terms of origin the way that most citrus lean bitter or most fruits leans sweet. Tomatoes and parmesan and soy sauce don't seem like they should have similar properties, yet they do. It's the magic of nature or something.
I've been on a mushroom kick lately, and wanted to do something fun with mushrooms that capitalized on their umami by bringing as many other umami-giving ingredients to the table. The result was what I call "umami bomb soup," which is incredibly savory with multiple layers that reveal each other with each slurp. The premise of the soup is your typical cream of mushroom, but the addition of miso, soy, fish sauce, and a parmesan rind combat the rich dairy finish. By the end, you've got savory, silky smooth broth with just a small bit of bite from the added alcohol. The chunks of mushrooms pop with meatiness, and the onions get nice and jammy, bringing a welcome sweetness.
The soup may have an unsuspecting appearance, but I promise that what it lacks for in looks it makes up for in flavor. This soup comes together in roughly an hour, with a third of that time being devoted to letting the soup simmer and the flavors meld, making this an excellent weeknight companion to your protein and roasted green veg of choice.
With mushrooms on the mind,
~c.j.
UMAMI BOMB MUSHROOM SOUP
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
ACTIVE COOKING TIME: 30-45 minutes
INACTIVE COOKING TIME: 20 minutes
TOTAL COOKING TIME: 50-65 minutes
YIELD: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
6 tbsp neutral oil (such as canola, vegetable, or safflower), divided
1 1/2 lb mushrooms (any kind, I use baby bella), sliced and divided
kosher salt
3 small or 2 medium red onions, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or minced
1/4 c. cognac or brandy
1/2 c. dry red wine
1/4 c. white miso paste
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 c. all purpose flour
6 c. chicken stock (sub: vegetable broth or water)
1 parmesan rind (optional, though highly recommended)
4 sprigs thyme, bundled with kitchen twine or removed from stems and finely chopped
1 c. heavy cream
freshly ground black pepper
a sensible pinch of MSG (optional)
DIRECTIONS
In a large heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Once lightly smoking, add a third of the mushrooms in an even layer and sauté undisturbed until very brown, about 4-6 minutes. Flip and sauté again until the other side is very brown, an additional 2-4 minutes. Remove from the pan and reserve on a plate, sprinkling with kosher salt. Repeat this process two more times until all mushrooms are dark brown and delicious. Leave any residual oil in the pot. Set mushrooms aside.
Add onions into pot with the residual oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and going transluscent, about 10 minutes. Reduce burner heat to medium and add the garlic, stirring constantly until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Season with kosher salt. Deglaze the pan with the cognac and wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond on the bottom of the pan. Cook until liquid has reduced and is much thicker -- given the high heat of the pan, this happens pretty quickly, about 2 minutes.
Add the miso paste, soy sauce, and fish sauce, stirring to make sure the miso paste loosens up. Add the mushrooms and flour and continue to stir until raw flour smell dissipates, about 1-2 minutes. Add stock (or water), parmesan rind (if using), and thyme. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.
Just before serving, remove pot from the heat. Remove and discard the parmesan rind and thyme bundle, if using. Still off the heat, stir in heavy cream and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Taste for seasoning, adding more kosher salt or pepper as needed. If using, add MSG sparingly during the seasoning process and continuously taste before adding more (too much can quickly overpower). Serve and enjoy.