You can usually find the 木のくらげ by the kelp and seaweed at most grocery stores, or if not, in the "Chinese cooking" section. 木のくらげ has a sort of mushroomy, yet seaweedy texture. If you'd like though, you can substitute the 木のくらげ with a darker mushroom instead, like shiitake or eringi. Lastly, if you can't find lentils (VERY rare in Japan in my experience), I suppose you can omit them or substitute them. Maybe you could use small red beans instead. Lentils cook much faster than beans, so if you do use beans instead, make sure they are already cooked. If you buy the beans in a can or package, be sure they are JUST beans, as a ton of the beans in cans or packages in Japan usually are used for desserts, i.e. they all have sugar. Adding that much sugar to this dish would kind of ruin it I think he he he.
Makes about 8 servings
Ingredients:
2 small onions, sliced
Fresh ginger, diced up, about 1 to 2 tablespoons worth
Garlic, 7 cloves, left whole
Dried chipotle chiles, about 3 to 4, deseeded
Olive oil, about 5 tablespoons
Spices:
Caraway seed, 1 teaspoon
Cardamon seed, 1 whole
Coriander seed, 1 teaspoon
Anis seeds, 1/2 teaspoon
Dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon
Black pepper, 1 teaspoon
Ground white pepper, 1/2 teaspoon
Curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon
Masala, 1/2 teaspoon
Habanero powder, 1/4 teaspoon
Chile de arbol powder, 1/4 teaspoon
Chipotle powder, 1/2 teaspoon
Ground cardamon, a small dash
Cinnamon, a small dash
Cumin powder, a liberal dash
Garam masala, a liberal dash
Ground sage, a small dash
Dried parsley, 1/2 tablespoon
Dried cilantro, 1 teaspoon
Dried marjoram, 1 teaspoon
Oregano, 1/2 teaspoon
Dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon
Further ingredients:
Small pumpkin, diced up into medium chunks
Fresh mint, 1 handful
2 large zucchini, sliced
3 carrots, sliced
木のくらげ, about 1/4 cup dried (or substitute with 3/4 cup of mushrooms)
Red lentils, 1/2 cup
Brown lentils, 1/2 cup
Salt, a few dashes
Butter (optional), 2 tablespoons worth
Coconut oil, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons
Tofu, 1/2 block
Fried tofu, 3 slices
Sesame seeds, 2 teaspoons
In a large pot, place the onion, ginger, garlic, and dried chipotle chiles. Add the caraway seed, cardamon seed, coriander seed, anis seed, and dried rosemary. Pour the olive oil, mix everything with a wooden spoon, and turn on the heat to medium.
Cook everything on medium heat until it starts to smell quite nice, about 5 to 7 minutes. Don't let anything burn. Turn off the heat, and add the rest of the spices, from black pepper until dried basil above. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Add the diced pumpkin and about 3 cups of water, just enough to barely cover the pumpkin. Turn on heat to medium, and bring to a a boil. Mix occasionally.
Once the pumpkin is soft, turn off the heat. Add the fresh mint to a blender. Use a large ladle to scoop up some of the pot contents into the blender. Blend the mixture in batches, as you likely won't be able to fit all of what's in the pot into one blender all at once. You can also add a bit of water to the blender if needed to allow it to blend more smoothly.
Pour the blender contents into a large bowl, and continue to blend what is in the pot until it is all blended. Then return all the blended mixture to the pot.
(I tend to put a bit of water into the empty blender and blend quickly to get all the last bits of mixture off the blades. Then you can pour this into the pot too.)
Add a bit of water to the pot, about 1 cup for now. (You can use the same bowl you kept the blended stuff in to do this so you don't waste any lovely pumpkin mixture.)
Add the zucchini, carrots, 木のくらげ, and the red and brown lentils to the pot. Sprinkle some salt as well. Mix well, and turn the heat on to medium. Add a bit more water. Just enough so the soup is still thick, but also so the zucchini and carrots are covered well. Mix well.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the regular and fried tofu. Mix. Add the butter and coconut oil and stir.
Once the mixture comes to a boil again, lower the heat to a low flame. Allow everything to cook on a low boil for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with rice or something and: Chow down!!
Tip: Just like a curry or chile, this goodness will taste even better the next day when the flavors have more time to seep into each other.
