Cho's Hmong Mushroom Soup

Servings: 4-6     |     Prep Time: 10 mins     |     Cook Time: 15 mins

Hmong mushroom soup (nceb hau) is deeply earthy, spicy, and unpretentious. You'll get a sense of walking through the thick jungles of Laos. This soup is brothy and soulfully flavored with fresh all natural ingredients: Shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms. While the mushrooms are the stars of this dish, they are enhanced by ginger, lemongrass, jalapeno peppers and basil to create a truly robust and enjoyable broth.

This recipe is from Cho Chang, a seasoned Hmong cook who's been in the kitchen cooking for as long as she can remember. Hmong people generally try to balance their meals with meat, leafy green vegetables, rice, a healthy soup and almost always, hot sauce on the side. (Try this classic Hmong hot sauce with your favorite meats.) This soup would obviously fall under the healthy soup category.

Hmong people lived in vast areas spanning the countries of Southeast Asia and China. Cho has roots with the Hmong people of Laos. She is among the generation that actually lived in secluded villages in the mountainous jungles of Laos during the earlier part of her life. Collecting edible wild mushrooms and fungi as food was a skill, as there were many varieties of poisonous mushrooms to avoid. Knowing what was edible and what was not had to be taught to younger generations since they didn't cultivate mushrooms. And it certainly was common knowledge that cooking up a big pot of mushroom soup was a delightful treat. The flavors of this soup is amazing considering how simple it is to prepare.

Needless to say, the wild mushrooms and fungi found in Laos aren't easily accessible here in America. But in large metropolitan areas, there are specialized Asian markets where you can find fresh wood ear mushrooms (nceb mom lwm), also called cloud ear or black fungus. If you can't find it fresh, try dried. You'll need to rehydrate them before use, though. Wood ears are jelly-ish and have a surprisingly crunchy texture. They're mild in flavor but hugely nutritional, being a great source of vitamins, minerals (even calcium!), dietary fiber and said to even have potential healing properties. Shiitake, oyster, and enoki mushrooms aren't traditional Hmong ingredients, but they have been adapted into Hmong cooking because of availability. So this recipe has the heart and soul of Hmong wild mushroom soup but uses what mushrooms are readily available here in the US. Not quite the real thing, but pretty close. A harmonious combination that's as delicious as it is healthy.