Soba Noodles and Mushroom Soup

I love mushrooms, so I ended up using a couple different kinds from the produce section, plus a package of dried shitakes (that you need to soak a good thirty minutes ahead of time), which was more than the recipe called for.  I'd suggest you go easy on the salt and start with just two or three Tablespoons of soy sauce.  Our soup ended up being on the salty side.  But we still enjoyed it.  My husband said it tasted like fancy Ramen!    




About 3/4 pound crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 medium leeks, trimmed and cut into matchsticks, washed and well drained
2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 red Fresno chili pepper, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
4 to 6 tablespoons Tamari or Soy sauce, to taste 
1 package soba noodles
Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Chopped scallion greens, for garnish

Heat oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high to high heat. Add mushrooms. Brown mushrooms until nutty and fragrant then add vegetable matchsticks, ginger, garlic and chili; season lightly with salt and liberally with black pepper. Stir-fry a minute or 2 then add stock and bring soup to a boil. Season with 4-6 tablespoons of Tamari. Add soba or spaghetti and cook to just tender.

Using tongs, fill bowls with noodles, mushrooms and vegetables. Ladle broth over top and garnish. Serve with chopsticks and a large spoon for slurping.