Vegan Shiitake Miso Cleansing Soup

Susan | December 1, 2015

I don’t know about you, but I will admit right here and now. I over-indulged at Thanksgiving. If I am to be completely honest, I over-indulged leading up to Thanksgiving as well. Trying and testing recipes for our holiday meal started a week before the actual event. There was a lot of great food and we started indulging early.

This year we had a beautiful vegan spread. All of the sides that you would normally have were present. Mashed potatoes (with a tarragon cashew cream), green bean casserole, cranberries, yams, greens, my great grandmother’s dressing made with veggie stock instead of turkey or chicken stock, mushroom gravy, and olive oil rolls dressed our table. The turkey was replaced by a version of the lentil loaf that incorporated the wild rice mixture right into the loaf and then it was wrapped in a vegan puff pastry. All in all it was a huge success. But as I said, food that I never eat on a daily basis but love to pull out for holidays.

On Monday I woke up and knew that my body was craving a healthy, healing, cleansing soup. I grabbed a Napa cabbage (you can substitute regular cabbage), shiitake mushrooms, carrots, leeks and ginger. Into the pot they went. After a nice long simmer, I turned off the heat and added miso and sambal oelek (chili paste), for a perfect touch of heat.

Shiitake Mushrooms for Health

Shiitake mushrooms are considered to be one of the world’s most healthy foods. Here are a few things we love about Shiitake Mushrooms!
Studies have shown that shiitake mushrooms support heart health by preventing too much immune cell binding to the lining of our blood vessels.
Shiitake mushrooms are a tremendous supporter of our immune systems. They boost it when needed and also cut back when needed.
They are a very good non-animal source of iron that is bioavailable to us.
They are very sustainable.
They are rich in B vitamins.
They are a good source of zinc, manganese, selenium, copper, vitamin D and fiber.
Shiitake mushrooms also are loaded with phytonutrients and are cancer fighters.

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Vegan Shitaki Miso Cleansing Soup

SERVES 6-8

8 cups water
1 large napa cabbage, sliced (about 8 cups)
2 large leeks, thinly sliced, rinsed well
1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in warm water and sliced (2 cups after rehydrating)
3 carrots, diced
1 inch ginger, sliced into large slices
1/3 cup white miso
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (fresh chili paste)

Heat water to boiling. Add cabbage, leeks, shitake mushrooms, carrots and ginger.
Return to boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 45 minutes or until cabbage, carrots and mushrooms are soft.
Remove from heat and add miso and sambal oelek, stirring until well incorporated.

Notes:

-Remove the ginger before serving.

-You can add the Shiitake soaking water to the soup.

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