This soup is all about low and slow; long cooking times at low temperatures to bring out the amazing flavours hidden inside onions and mushrooms. You’ll need a good sized chunk of spare time to make this soup, but you can make a big batch and enjoy it for days. And, like all soups, it gets better with time, so the make-ahead strategy really works in your favour.
Make sure you start with a nice selection of mushrooms. My local grocery store isn’t exactly a hotspot of mushroom variety, so I made do with button, shiitake, oyster, and cremini mushrooms. Feel free to use any mushrooms you can get your hands on. You’ll want quite a few—enough to yield 6 to 8 cups once they’ve been chopped.
Sesame oil, butter and ground coriander provide flavour in addition to the onions and mushrooms, and they do it very well. Everything is sautéed in a combination of butter and sesame oil, and gently sprinkled with a bit of ground coriander. The sesame oil, and a drizzle of soy sauce later on, add lovely body and flavour to the broth.
The biggest key to this soup is to give everything enough coking time. Pan sear the tofu until it’s golden and crispy. Cook the mushrooms down until they start to brown. They have a lot of moisture in them, so it will take a while. Next up, the onions. Make sure to fully caramelize the onions until they’re reduced and nice and caramelly. And then deglaze the pan with some white wine to take advantage of all of the delicious bits that get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Barley Soup
2 cups cubed pressed tofu
2.5L of mixed mushrooms, to yield 6 to 8 cups chopped
2 onions, chopped
¼ pearl barley, rinsed
1 cup water, for the barley
Ground coriander
Ground black pepper
½ cup white wine
1L vegetable stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/3 cup heavy cream
Sesame oil & butter, as neededPan-sear the tofu in a large stock pot in sesame oil until golden and crispy. Remove from the pot and drain on some paper towel.
Sauté the mushrooms in sesame oil and butter (season with ground coriander and pepper) until you’ve cooked out all of the moisture and they have browned nicely. Remove from the pot.
While the mushrooms cook, bring the barley, a sprinkle of coriander, and 1 cup water to a boil, and then simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, until the water is absorbed.
Caramelize the onions in sesame oil and butter over low heat until dark brown and super delicious smelling. Season with a sprinkle of coriander and black pepper. Put the tofu and mushrooms back in the pot, add the barley, stir, and deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the stock and soy sauce, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Finish with the cream. Taste and season as desired. Enjoy with some buttered rye bread. Yum!
