Ingredients:
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
300g chicken thighs, bones removed (reserve the bones)
300g salmon fillet (with skin), scaled
2 tbsp sake
50g Jerusalem artichokes
50g daikon (mooli), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
50g carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
4 spring onions (white part only), neatly trimmed and cut into 2cm lengths
4 mitsuba sprigs, roots removed
1 yuzu (or lime) cut into four 3mm thick rounds
4 large, raw, tiger prawns, peeled (leave the tails on)
2 tbsp shoyu
8 tinned gingko nuts
8 mochi slices
salt, to taste
Method:
For the soup stock, begin by soaking the dried shiitake mushroom over night in 1l (4 cups) cold water. The following morning remove the mushrooms and strain the liquid into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil then add the chicken bones before reducing the heat to medium. Continue cooking, skimming the surface frequently to remove any scum as it rises.
After 20 minutes, reduce to a low simmer and continue simmering gently for 30 minutes, or until the level of liquid has reduced by a third. Strain the resulting stock into a clean pan.
In the meantime, cut the chicken and salmon into small cubes. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add 1 tbsp sake and use to parboil the chicken and fish for 1 minuted. Drain and wash under cold, running water.
Scrub the Jerusalem artichokes and peel. Place in a pan, cover with water then add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes then drain. Rinse under cold, running water then wipe dry and cut into 1cm cubes.
Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms (discard these) then slice the caps thinly. Place the mitsuba sprigs in a sieve and pour hot water over them then separate the leaves from the stalks. Fold the stalks in two and tie then in the centre to form a bowl (make four bows in all).
Take the rounds of yuzu or lime and hollow out the inside to give rings of peel.
Add the remaining 1 tbsp sake to the soup stock and bring to a boil. Add the daikon, carrot and shiitake mushrooms then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the prawns, artichokes, spring onions, chicken and salmon to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes then add the shoyu. Reduce the heat to low and add the gingko nuts.
Slice the mochi in half crossways. Toast the pieces under a grill (broiler) pre-heated to medium, turning them every minute, until both sides are golden brown and the pieces have begun to swell like a balloon (about 5 minutes).
Arrange the toasted mochi in individual soup bowls and ladle over the hot soup. Arrange a mitsuba leaf in the centre of each bowl, put a yuzu or lime ring on top then lay a mitsuba bow across the top.
Serve immediately.
Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.