Wood Ear Mushroom, Enoki, Miso Soup

If you know about the health benefits of the ingredients in this soup, then you will be excited!  Wood Ear Fungus (cow's ear fungus) helps the lungs, has anti aging properties, stops internal bleeding and is very nutritious.  Enoki are so nice too!
     Recipe:  Make a 10 minute dashi broth with sun dried anchovies and edible kelp.  Boil for 10 minutes, then add a dash of soy sauce.  Strain the broth and return the broth to a sauce pot over medium heat.  Simmer the broth with a little bit of minced ginger and minced garlic.   Add some thin sliced wood ear fungus. (Soak the dried wood ear fungus overnight with water in a refrigerator to reconstitute them.)
     Turn the heat to low.  Add a little bit of miso paste and stir.  (Do not over heat the miso.  Heat changes the flavor of miso.)
     Fill a shallow soup bowl half way up with the miso soup.  Set some raw enoki mushrooms and mung bean sprouts on top of the soup.  Pour the rest of the miso soup broth over the sprouts and enoki.  Sprinkle some very thin sliced green onion on top.  Set a little bit of chuka kuki wakame (pickled green seaweed salad) on top of the soup.  (This seaweed salad is available in Chinese markets.  There is enough sesame oil in the salad to flavor the soup.)
     The flavors are so good in this miso soup!  Wood Ear Fungus is a mushroom that grows on certain trees.  It has a very interesting texture and it has a very mild agreeable flavor.  I love this soup! ... Shawna