Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Japanese Onion Soup


When I grew up, one of my favorite dinner spots was our local Japanese Steakhouse.  You know, the place where they cook in front of you, throw knives around and you try to catch shrimp in your mouth.  One of my favorite courses was the very first one, the Japanese Onion Soup.  It was always so clean, clear but flavorful. I finally found a recipe from Meemo's Kitchen for a re-creation of this famous recipe.  I've never really fried anything but these little onion slice were easy as pie.  I imagine you could use the canned fried onions, such as French's.

Ingredients:


-4 cups chicken broth
-2 cups water
-1 white onion
-1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
-1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
-1/2 tsp salt
-6 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
-4 green onion, chopped
-1 cup vegetable oil (for frying)
-1 cup milk
-1 cup flour




First, coarsely chop half of the white onion.  Also, roughly chop the carrot and celery.



In a large pot combine the broth, water, chopped onion, carrots, celery and salt.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for at least 10 minutes.


While the broth is simmering, you can fry up your onions.  Using the remaining half of the onion, thinly slice until you have about 1/4 cup of onions.   Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil over medium heat until hot (flick water in the oil, when it pops, it is hot enough for frying).  Pour the milk in a shallow bowl and spread flour on a plate.



Working in small batches (small handful) at a time, dip the onion in the milk, coat with flour and throw into the hot oil.  A "spider spoon" is the best for frying.  I use it for everything!  Watch the onions closely and once they are golden brown (about 1 minute) remove with the spider spoon.  Lay them on a paper towel to dry.  Repeat with the remaining onions.  Tip: if you have a splatter screen this is a great time to use it.  It will keep your stove top much cleaner!





Once you're done with the fried onions, chop your green onions and thinly slice your mushrooms.



Now, using a strainer to catch the solids, strain the broth.  Just make sure to put another put under the strainer to catch the soup!! Put the soup back on the stove and turn the heat back to medium.



Ladle the soup into small bowls and sprinkle your three topping on each soup: green onions, fried onions, and mushrooms.




15 comments:

  1. wow going to cook this this weekend

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  2. My 7 yr old son is enjoying the soup as I type this note. He's been asking me to find a recipe for Japanese Onion Soup for quite a while now. Thanks so much. It's delicious!

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    1. So great you and your son enjoyed it. I was about 7 when I discovered Japanese Onion Soup and craved it for years. I'm happy to have found a similar version to the ones I enjoyed during my childhood. Your comment reminds me that I need to make it again!

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  3. I just tried this recipe two nights ago and it's delicious! I made some home made fried rice to go with the soup and they meshed pretty well together. Only, I didn't fry the onions this time but next time I will! This is defintely going in my recipe book, thanks!

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  4. do u think yellow onion would work? i dont have any white onion on hand

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    1. Absolutely. It would only make it a tad sweeter, but you probably wouldn't even notice.

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  5. I was wondering how much this recipe makes?

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    1. not a large amount. There's abut 6 cups of liquid so about 4 servings but it's only met to be a first course..not a meal. I would double the recipe for a larger amount

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  6. How important is boiling the broth and water with carrots and celery?

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    1. Carrots and Celery will definitely add flavoring to the broth as in a normal Mirepoix, but you could just do all broth (6 cups) and no water and the flavor would still be good. Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for the comment!

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  7. I just finished making this and it tastes pretty good, it just seems as though it's watered down almost. I let it simmer for twenty minutes two, I assumed it would be enough. My broth was lighter in color. I could taste it, it just seemed it was at 80 percent rather than 100. Any suggestions?

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    1. The soup is supposed to be a clean-tasting, clear broth and not too rich. If you would like it to have a stronger, richer flavor, just reduce the soup more. Cook it for about an hour until about half of the soup evaporates. That will make it have a stronger flavor. Just remember, you will end up with less soup since some will evaporate.

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  8. This soup is awesome. Your taste buds will be delighted

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  9. Has anyone tried this with the store bought french fried onions instead? Just wondering if they would taste as good?

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Looks good? Made it? Wanna try it? Leave me a Comment...I love them!