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–+ servings

Japanese Sweet Potato Soup

4.88 | 8 reviews
This plant-based soup perfectly marries together delicate flavors, but leaves you with a soup that feels insanely flavorful. Japanese sweet potato, mushrooms and miso mingle with coconut milk, making everything savory yet still feeling light and clean. The sweet potato stays in chunks, but they turn into a texture that melts in your mouth, making this soup one of my favorite ways to use them.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound oyster mushrooms
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 3 small Birdseye chilies, only use 2 if you are sensitive to heat
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced ginger
  • 4 ounces scallions, `about 4 large scallions or 7 small scallions
  • 2 pounds of Japanese sweet potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white miso paste
  • 2 13.5 ounce cans of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
  • 5 cups of water
  • 10 ounces bok choy, about 2 heads
  • 2 cups frozen edamame beans, shells removed
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt
For serving
  • Fresh mint leaves, optional

Instructions 

  1. Cut off the base of the oyster mushroom cluster and discard it. Tear the oyster mushrooms into strips.
  2. Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves, a knob of fresh ginger, and 3 Birdseye chilies and set aside.
  3. Halve the scallions and slice the white parts into medallions and set aside. Thinly slice the green parts at an angle and set those aside for garnish.
  4. Cut the Japanese sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
  5. Place a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  6. Add the mushrooms and cook undisturbed for 4 minutes or until they begin to brown on the bottom. Then stirring occasionally, cook them another 5-6 minutes or until the mushrooms are deeply browned and half their original size. Lower the heat if you see them beginning to burn onto the bottom of the pot.
  7. Add the sliced garlic cloves, chilies, and white parts of the scallions to the mushrooms. Add 1/4 cup of miso paste and stir everything to combine into a paste. Cook for 2 minutes, letting everything mingle but not darken.
  8. Add the Japanese sweet potato and stir to combine. Then pour in the five cups of water and two cans of coconut milk.
  9. Add the 1/4 cup of sliced ginger into the soup.
  10. Bring this to a simmer, then cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the potato is tender but not falling apart.
  11. Uncover the soup and if you prefer to remove the ginger slices, you can do that now (I like to leave it in, but some people don't like the ginger slices in their soup).
  12. Tear in the bok choy leaves. Stir to combine, then cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and add the 2 cups of edamame. Stir to combine. Leave the soup on the heat for another 2 minutes so the edamame fully thaws into the broth.
  13. Taste the soup and season with salt as preferred, then remove it from the heat.
  14. To serve, top with the remaining scallion greens and mint. Serve warm!