China Moon Vegetable Infusion

By Hklbrries

This is a light vegetable stock with great flavor and a lovely sweetness. Add cooked pasta and slivered vegetables for a teriffic main-dish soup.

Ingredients

• 4 large, rock-hard heads garlic
• 6 large Chinese dried black mushrooms
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 4 carrots, thinly sliced
• 10 quarter-size rounds fresh gingerroot, smashed
• 6 fat scallions, cut into 1-inch chunks, smashed
• 2 small green serrano chiles, halved and smashed
• 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns
• 12 cups cold water
• 1 fat stalk lemongrass, cut into 2-inch pieces, smashed

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Arrange a rack in the middle position.

Roast the garlic, root side down, on a baking sheet until very soft, about 30 minutes. (Don't worry if some brown ooze bubbles volcanolike from the top). Let cool, then smash the heads lightly to expose the pulp.

While the garlic roasts, cover the mushrooms in a shallow bowl with 1 cup cold water. Weigh the caps down with a saucer and let soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Cut the caps into thick slices. Strain and retain the soaking liquid.

Heat a heavy nonaluminum stockpot over low heat until a bead of wine evaporates on contact. Add the garlic, mushrooms, onions, carrots, ginger, scallions, chilies, and wine, and stir to combine. Cover the pot and let the vegetables sweat until soupy, about 20 minutes. Don't rush the process; the fuller the sauna, the better tasting the stock.

Add the peppercorns, water, and reserved mushroom-soaking liquid. Stir to blend, raise the heat, and bring the mixture to a near boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a weak simmer and cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Add the lemongrass and simmer gently 15 minutes more.

Strain the stock and discard the solids. For best flavor, use the stock within 2 days.

Nutrition Information:
Per (1 cup) serving
41 calories
.2 g fat
0 mg cholesterol
164 mg sodium