– Kennyhana Japanese Onion Soup –

Hey who loves soup and what’s up with the Kennyhana thing? The entire cookingyo.com family loves soup and Kennyhana is my attempt to clone to my liking the soup from my favorite Japanese Steakhouse chain. It is a pretty simple recipe and it only needs a few common ingredients. To do the Japanese Onion Soup right, it doesn’t take all day, but I wouldn’t rush it either. Try it, you and your family will like it. My family members each like the Japanese Onion Soup a different way. One likes the original, one without mushrooms, another likes the broth only. So feel free to modify the recipe to suit your needs. I know I did.

Ingredients:

32 oz of chicken broth, 1 box or 4 cans
16 oz of water
1 medium sized sweet onion
1 stalk of celery
1 carrot
pink Himalayan salt
1 cup frying oil ( I used peanut oil )
1 cup milk (I used buttermilk)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-3 big or 5-6 small white mushroom
4 scallions
Soy Sauce

Method:

Start by adding the 32 oz. (4 cups) of chicken broth to a large sauce pan or an enameled dutch oven followed by the 16 oz (2 cups) of water. Chop 1/2 the onion up coarsely add to the pot, reserve the other half for later. Take the celery stalk slice it in half length wise then in to 1 inch pieces, and add it to the pot. Grab a carrot and peel it, cut it in to 1 inch pieces and add it to the pot. Add 2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce. This is two fold to add salt to the soup and a little color. Bring the pot to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1/2 hour. I like to let it go for an hour personally but it isn’t needed to make the soup . Remove and dispose of the vegetables. I do this by putting a small strainer over a very large measuring cup. Taste the broth and add salt or more soy sauce to taste.

While the soup is simmering, take the other half of the onion and slice it rather thinly. Get a small bowl, add some milk, I used buttermilk. Place the flour on a separate plate. Get a medium skillet and add a cup of frying oil over high heat (vegetable, canola, what ever you have lying around, I used peanut oil because it was left over from frying the turkey on Thanksgiving.) Dredge the onions, dip it in the milk followed by a good coating of flour. Place the onions in the hot oil and fry till golden brown. I used some cheap IKEA tongs to give them a quick flip and to pull the onions out but you can use any tool in your drawer to achieve the task. Just don’t put too many onions in the oil at once, you will get better results by doing batches. Place the done fried onions on a plate with a paper towel to drain.

Slice up the scallions in to 1/4 inch pieces and then thinly slice your mushrooms.

Assembly:

Take a soup bowl. Add some fried onions to the bottom, followed by some scallions, and line the sides with sliced mushrooms. Either ladle, or in my case, pour the broth via the extra large measuring cup. Serve Hot. Enjoy!