Tong Ho & Mushroom Soup

(click to enlarge)	Tong Ho & Mushroom Soup China
(click to enlarge)	Serves: Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 soup ** 45 min Yes		Chrysanthemum leaves are an ingeredient not familiar to most in North America, but worthwhile getting acquainted with. This recipe will also work with other greens. It also works very well with some shrimp or other shellfish included - and persinally I'd put in a dash of fish sauce and a couple Thai chilis - which would make it more Vietnamese.

10
8
2
1
4
1/2
1/8
1/4

oz
oz
cl
T
c
t
t
t

Straw Mushrooms (1)
Tong Ho (2)
Garlic
Oil (3)
Stock, light
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

PREP

Cut MUSHROMS in half lengthwise.
Cut large stems from TONG HO separating into large leaves and small bunches. make a couple cuts through the pile so the strands are short enough to eat with a spoon.
Crush GARLIC and chop small.

Run

Heat Oil in a wok or spacious sauté pan. Fry Garlic just until aromatic, then stir in Mushrooms. Fry them on moderate heat stirring gently until the garlic is golden.
Stir in Tong Ho until coated with oil, then Stock, Salt, Pepper and Sugar. Cover and simmer until Tong Ho is tender (about 5 minutes).
Serve hot.

NOTES:

Straw Mushrooms: These should be "Unpeeled" and the amount given ia about 1-1/2 15 oz cans. If they are at just the right stage of development they'll look like little alien happy faces when cut in half lengthwise. For details see my Straw Mushrooms page.
Tong Ho: This comes in two varieties, "small leaf" with frilly leaves - very common in Asian markets, and "big leaf" - still rare even in Los Angeles. The big leaf is preferred for soup but the small leaf will work well enough. For details see my Chrysanthemum page.
Stock The original recipe specifies plain water, but I suspect she used fresh straw mushrooms not canned, so I specify a light stock for more flavor. Fresh straw mushrooms are pretty much unavailable even in Los Angeles, never mind Cleveland.
Oil: The author of the original recipe specified Olive Oil, and since she's a Chinese person living in Hong Kong that makes it "authentic". I completely agree, it is the best cooking oil for almost all cuisines - but it should be plain "Olive Oil" (also known as "Pure Olive Oil"), not Virgin or Extra Virgin which have too much flavor of their own.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch