Japanese Nettle Soup

Nettles are great in soup - there's no doubt about that. But given their already exotic and unusual status, it's not uncommon for them to be pigeonholed into one very specific preparation. I wanted to show that with some tweaking and creativity, a sublime soup can be made with distinctly Japanese ingredients for a wonderful and unique break from the ordinary.

Course Soup

Cuisine Asian, Japanese

Keyword stinging nettles, vegan, vegan nettle soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 55

Servings servings

Calories 125kcal

Ingredients

100 g stinging nettles
3 small dried shiitake mushrooms (about 15 grams)
300 g small yellow potatoes diced
1 medium onion chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp mirin
3x5 inch piece kombu
225 g chinese cabbage (~1/4 head)
3 tbsp white miso
2 tsp tamari (substitute soy sauce)
2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup short grain white rice
cherry blossoms to garnish (optional)
mizuna to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 1 cup of cold water for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight. Do not discard the water used to soak the mushrooms.
Soak the kombu in 2 liters of cold water. If you're soaking the mushrooms overnight, then do the same with the kombu. If you're pressed for time, simply soak the kombu as long as possible while doing the other steps.
Wear gloves while working with the raw nettles. Pick through them and remove any thick stems or bad leaves, the gently wash the nettles in cold water. Drain and set aside.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the nettles and blanch for 45 seconds, then drain and rinse with cold water. Set the cooked nettles aside (you no longer need gloves to handle them).
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Toss the potatoes and onions with the oil and spread out over a baking tray. Roast for about 15 minutes or until browned and very fragrant.
While the vegetables are cooking, remove the mushrooms from their soaking liquid, remove the stems, and dice the caps. The stems are generally quite tough and should be discarded, though you can add them into the stock and fish them out later for added flavour. Do not discard the mushroom stock (soaking liquid)!
Add tamari, mirin, and rice vinegar to the pot of water and kombu, then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once the broth is simmering, remove the kombu and skim any bits. Add the mushrooms, mushroom stock, roasted veggies, and cabbage, then return to a simmer. Add rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is done; about 15 minutes.
Add the blanched nettles to the pot and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.
Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor. Serve warm, garnished with bitter greens or edible flowers (or really any garnish you'd like). I used cherry blossoms and mizuna.

Notes

Be sure to wear gloves when working with uncooked nettles.

Note that this recipe is listed as gluten-free, but do pay attention to your tamari ingredients, as some varieties are made with a small amount of wheat.

Nutrition