mushroom and thai basil broth

Sorry I've been meaning to post this for like FOREVER, but sadly I have a busy life that i can not dedicate to cooking and blogging food.. but I try my best ;)

Mushrooms are a fabulous fungi. Super low in calorie but super high in B vitamins and taste. I love the earthiness and nuttiness of mushrooms and is perfect for adding bass tones to dishes. Here I've decided to pair them with Thai basil. I have fallen in love with this stuff. My sister introduced it to us when she got back from her gap year in Vietnam and showed us how wonderfull it is when paired with corriander and mint in a rice paper roll. However i think it goes wonderfully with mushrooms. Thai basil is like a sweeter, brighter more aniseed version of our regular basil so when paired with mushroom it brings a lightness to the dish while accentuaing the deepness of the mushroom, it's like adding lemon juice and parsely to mushrooms but better.. so much better.

 This is a perfect little creation to use this beautiful mushroom and thai basil combination.

Mushroom and Thai Basil Broth

 Ingredients (for 2)
 
10 mushrooms (I used chestnut and white but any will do)
1/2 white onion
1/2 a thai chilli
1 inch knob of ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 (good) veg stock cube
3 tbsp of fish sauce (if vegan or veggie replace with 1 additional tbsp of soy/tamari )
3 tbsp of soy/tamari
1/2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of Thai basil paste
1/2 tbsp of agave
2 spring onions (scallions/green onions to some)

-Fill the kettle and boil the water. Chop mushrooms and onion into thick slithers, roughly chop the garlic and ginger and de-seed the chill and chop finely. Add all this to a lightly greased pan and apply heat.
- When the pan smell fragrant of garlic and ginger and the vegtables are partially cooked ass one tbsp of Thai basil paste and stir for 1 min max
- Add boiled water so there is enough for 3-4 people in the pan as it will reduce down to 2 portions. Cruble in the stock cube and stir.
- Add soy and fish sauce (if using) and the vinegar. If you don't have rice wine vinegar you can use lime juice or cider vinegar in this recipe. Add your agave and taste. Thai food should have a balance of hot,sour,sweet and salty so you may need to add more agave or vinegar or soy depending on your taste.
- Let it bubble away and reduce down for 15-20 mins or till it taste perfect. Strain the broth removing all the vegetables and garlic and ginger. Return broth to the pan to keep warm and reserve the vegetables.

The assembly

- Place the remainder of the Thai basil paste between two mugs or bowls along with a chopped scallion and the mushrooms and onions you reserved from the broth. Pour in broth and viola!

Which vegetable goes best with jacket potatoes..? Button Mushrooms...