Autumn is finally on its way! Big bowls of soup have been appearing on our table more and more often.

Without MSG, bouillon cubes or artificial soup bases, the easiest and cleanest way to draw out umami for soup is mushrooms. That’s why we always keep a small box of various mushrooms in the fridge. They’re rich in amino acids and many other nutrients, and especially for Autumn.

🥢 Main Ingredients
Fresh tofu, seafood mushrooms and beech mushrooms, okra, ginger shreds, scallion sections, salt, white pepper, tremella (snow fungus) soup stock, a few slices of Jinhua ham (optional)

🥢 Simple Steps

1. Cold water in a pot, add seafood mushrooms and beech mushrooms with just a pinch of salt. Simmer gently.
2. The broth turns milky-white. That’s the sign the mushroom flavor has fully infused the soup. Proteins breaking down into amino acids, reaction with sodium, you will get the natural source of umami.
3. Add fresh tofu cubes, ginger shreds and scallion strips, simmer a few more minutes.
4. Add chopped fresh okra. Give the pot a gentle stir, cook for one or two minutes, then finish with a sprinkle of white pepper before serving on table.

Tip

When we want a thicker and silkier soup, we usually turn to add some tremella stock instead of cornstarch.

Tremella not only has a naturally thick, velvety texture, but it’s also a nourishing drink on its own. Its polysaccharides create a lovely consistency without destroying the original umami, and unlike starch, it won’t affect the soup’s clearness whether hot or cold.

More importantly, tremella polysaccharides are a soluble dietary fiber that helps stabilize blood sugar, while starch is something we limit in our diet.