A staple in the Taiwanese household, and it certainly was in ours as this was mom's go-to soup for lunch, back in the day. The ingredients are few and simple, but very flavorful and nutritious. Mom used a pork stock made from pork ribs as the soup base, but I like to combine a pork-based stock with some chicken base to round out the flavors. Daikon radish and dried shiitakes are readily available in Asian markets and even many supermarkets these days. Hondashi is a Japanese bonito-flavored seasoning which adds great umami flavor to the soup (ok to omit if you can't find this).
5 quarts (20 cups) water
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. Hondashi (optional)
2 tbsp. Totole or other chicken base
2 slices ginger
1 lb. pork shoulder blade, country ribs, or pork rib cutlets
10 small dried shiitake mushrooms
1 large daikon radish, peeled and cut into 2" cubes
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 tsp. sesame oil
1. Place the dried shiitakes into a medium bowl and cover with hot water; let soak for 30 minutes or until the mushrooms are rehydrated. Remove the mushrooms to a chopping board (reserve the soaking liquid), remove stems, and cut the caps into slices; set aside.
2. Combine 5 quarts of water, 1 tbsp. kosher salt, 1 tbsp. Hondashi, 2 tbsp. chicken base, and 2 slices of ginger the whole pork shoulder blade, country ribs, or pork rib cutlets into a large pot; turn heat to medium high and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes or until the pork is tender. Remove the pork to a chopping board and cut into bite-sized pieces (if using pork rib cutlets, you can skip this step).
3. Add the sliced pork, cubed daikon radish, sliced shiitakes, reserved mushroom cooking liquid, 1/2 tsp. white pepper, 2 tsp. sesame oil back to the soup and cook another 30 minutes or until the radish is just tender.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, sesame oil) as needed.
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