Sunday 25 July 2010

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Healthy Cream of Mushroom Soup/Champignon Suppe/奶油蘑菇汤 [nǎi yóu mó gu tāng]



Serves 4

Preparation and Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

- 500g shitake mushrooms (I prefer to use a mixture of fresh shitake than portabella mushrooms for more taste)
- 25g of frozen shrimps deshelled type (this is used to replace chicken stock called in many recipes for soup)
- 2-3 stalks celery chopped
- 1/2 stalk of leek (white portion) chopped
- 2 large onions diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic chopped
- 3 TBS ground oatmeal (to thicken the sauce)
- 4 cups low-fat fresh milk
- 3 TBS cooking oil or butter
- 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
- 2-3 slices of cheese (optional)
- Chopped parsley or chives for garnish (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat pan with oil or butter and fry garlic, leek, celery and onions on high heat until lightly brown, then add mushrooms and continue to fry on medium high heat now until the mushroom turns brown. Then add the frozen prawns.

2. Add salt, pepper and white wine and boil for 1 minute.

3. Meanwhile mix well ground oatmeal and milk in a separate container and then add it into the pan after the wine has been boiled for 1 minute.

4. Stir for 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens

5. If you like your soup smooth, but yet able to see the mushrooms, scoop up half of the soups with the mushrooms and blend them in a blender, then add them back into the soup.

6. Reduce heat and add cheese until melt.

7. Garnish with parsley and serve with pasta or potatoes

Nutritional Value:
Shiitake mushrooms are an excellent source of selenium and a very good source of iron. They are also a good source of protein, dietary fiber and vitamin C.

Mushrooms contain higher concentrations L-ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant, than either of the two dietary sources previously believed to contain the most: chicken liver and wheat germ.

Testing mushrooms consumed in the U.S., the team found that shiitake, oyster, king oyster and maitake mushrooms contain the highest amounts of ergothioneine, with up to 13mg in a 3-ounce serving. This equals forty times as much as is found in wheat germ. This is followed by portabellas and criminis hand lastly white buttons. White buttons contain up to 5 mg per three ounce serving-12 times as much as wheat germ and 4 times more than chicken liver. The good news is L-ergothioneine is not destroyed when mushrooms are cooked.

In addition, shitake mushrooms are said to revigorate the immune system and good for the heart.

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Additional Comments:
The difference between the mushroom sauce recipe and soup is the use of more milk or water, as well as blending the mixture, to turn the sauce into soup.

I realise that it is very important to use a good cheese. I use ordinary slice cheese, and it turned out rubbery in texture. I found this organic cheddar cheese that really enhances the taste of the soup:


References:
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=122

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-make-mushroom-soup

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