Why I love Medicinal Mushroom Broth ~ and a Recipe 🍄😋🤎
A selection of mushrooms I put in a recent broth. Clockwise from bottom left: dried shiitake, fresh oyster, fresh maitake, fresh golden oyster, fresh shiitake and fresh lion’s mane mushroom
I have been simmering enormous batches of immune-supporting medicinal mushroom broth on the back burner of the stove, pouring the finished stock into those quart-size to-go containers and stuffing my freezer full of it. I use the resulting umami infusion as a base for winter meals or drink a mug of it unadorned, as a nice way to prepare my body to receive food. Sipping broth is a wonderful way to begin chilly fall mornings. My broth is spicy! And packed with immune-supporting fungi and herbs. Knowing that I have carved out precious moments in my kitchen, amidst the cessation-less tick of late-stage capitalist clock time to do this one act for myself, makes the medicine in the broth feel more powerful. Eating any dish for which I have used the broth as a base feels like prayer.
Broths are easy to digest, soothing to the digestive tract and, when made with collagen and gelatin-rich ingredients, actually help rebuild the lining of the gut. Broth made from medicinal mushrooms has unique benefits, too. We are more closely related to the fungi kingdom than any other kingdom of life, including plants. Medicinal mushrooms are high in fiber, nourish the immune system, reduce inflammation in the nervous system, support lung health and strengthen liver function. Some are hypotensive, others help lower blood sugar and certain species, given their affinity for the liver, can help regulate emotions. When grown exposed to (or dried gill-side up in) sunshine, mushrooms can provide us with a good dose of Vitamin D. One can see how consuming fungi regularly could help strengthen our overall sense of well-being!
Incorporating mushrooms into your daily regimen is a good move for so many reasons. I love the fact that I can reap the benefits of fungal allies all week from just one long kitchen session making this broth. See below for my recipe.
Medicinal Mushroom Broth
I made so much broth in my last batch that I had enough to give away! Here’s the divine bowl of soup of my friend Kenn made from that stock
Ingredients:
Two tablespoons olive, coconut oil or ghee
Two small onions, chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
3 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 to 3 pounds of any combination chopped fresh oyster, shiitake, maitake, lion’s mane, porcini, honey, wood ear, portobello or lobster mushrooms
Several sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
4 or more dried hot chillies
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Fresh sage, sliced thinly
1 to 3 ounces dried astragalus, codonopsis and/or ashwagandha root*
Any quantity of dried reishi or turkey tail mushroom*
Small muslin bag
10 Black peppercorns
2 gallons water
Sea salt
*Because I am an herbalist I have these herbs around. This recipe isn’t about stressing yourself out procuring hard-to-track-down herbs. Use whatever you have around, or can find at your local farmer’s market.
To make:
- Place two tablespoons oil in a large stock pot on medium-low heat
- Add onions, sautéing until they begin to soften
- Add garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant—no more than 2 minutes
- Throw in your fresh mushrooms. Sauté a few minutes
- Add water, chopped rosemary, sage, hot chillies, peppercorn and spices
- Place reishi, turkey tail, astragalus, codonopsis and ashwagandha in muslim bag, drawing string until the bag closes. Drop the bag into the pot
- Raise heat until pot comes to a boil, then turn heat down to low
- Place lid on pot and simmer for 6 to 8 hours, covered
- Remove muslin bag. Throw what’s inside in the compost bin
- Add sea salt to taste
Here are some ideas on how to eat your broth:
- Add a cup of broth to a bowl of brown rice and roasted vegetables for an easy, nourishing meal
- Drink a small bowlful in the morning to help your body prepare to receive food
- To a bowl of hot broth add a spoonful of miso, teaspoon umboshe plum vinegar, toasted sesame seed oil and fresh, julienned carrot, cilantro and cucumber. Diced protein will help make this more filling
- In a pot, add cold broth and a selection of starchy root vegetables like burdock, parsnip, potato and celeriac. Bring to a boil, then simmer until roots soften. Remove from heat. Strain vegetables out, catching broth in a bowl. Using a potato masher, pound root veggies into a nice chunky texture, adding broth back in until the mash both reaches the consistency you desire and ensures you get the equivalent of a 6 to 8-ounce cup of broth in one serving of the mash. Salt to taste. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast and fresh herbs like cilantro or dill
Enjoy!