One minute I held the key...

 I have been craving  Asian dumplings. I looked in my refrigerator the other day and noticed an abundance of mushrooms, and then later that day I was speaking to a vegan friend and he told me of this wonderful broth he had made. After a little research on dumpling soup, mushroom dumpling Asian soup was born. My version is not totally vegan, but if you wanted it to be just use vegan butter and omit the fish sauce. This was a surprise, but a delightful one. It was filling without being overly heavy. It is important to use a hearty mushroom to create a firm texture. This soup served with spring rolls would be wonderful for lunch entertainment.   

for the wontons

4 cups mushrooms diced (I used a mixture of portabella, shitake, oyster)

2 T butter

wonton wrappers

for the broth 

small piece of ginger, about the size of your thumb, cut into thin, matchstick-sized pieces

5-6 cloves of garlic, sliced

4-6 cups of stock (chicken or veggie, but I made stock from the mushroom stems and I would recommend this)

4-6 lemongrass stalks, hearts removed and chopped

2 t fish sauce 

2 T soy sauce

1 T sugar

chopped green onions, for serving 

To make the wonton filling, saute the mushroom caps in the butter for a few minutes over medium heat. Place the mushrooms over a strainer and press on it to drain most of the moisture out.

To make the broth, start by gently sauteing the ginger, garlic and lemongrass hearts in a bit of oil in a medium-sized sauce pan for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat. Add in the stock, hollow lemongrass husks, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Stir well and allow to simmer over the lowest heat possible for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and discard the lemongrass husks and increase the heat to medium. Once it is at a very low boil, drop in the wonton dumplings, making sure not to overcrowd the saucepan with them. If the boil increases at all, dial down the heat a bit to ensure the boil stays consistent. After three to four minutes, remove the dumplings and place them in serving bowls. Repeat the process until the dumplings have been prepared, then ladle the hot soup over them.

Sprinkle with the green onion and serve immediately.

Until tomorrow...Peace.