When you’re in need of something warm, light, and utterly comforting, Shrimp Zosui is the perfect answer. This Japanese rice soup is the kind of simple supper your mom might make if you were coming down with a little something. Humble ingredients like savory dashi broth, eggs, and soft grains of rice transform into a soothing bowl of goodness. Plump shrimp adds some heft while spinach lends its bright color. A healthy dose of ginger adds to the healing properties of this classic soup. Traditionally made to use up leftover rice, zosui is a staple of Japanese home cooking, cherished for its simplicity and nourishing qualities. Whether you’re the one coming down with something, just craving a gentle meal on a cold day, or maybe looking for a way to reset after indulgent eating, Shrimp Zosui is as restorative as it is delicious. Bonus, it’s ready in under a half hour so let’s get into it!
A while ago I showed you how easy it is to make homemade dashi, which is a foundational building block of Japanese cuisine. If you have some on hand, Shrimp Zosui is an excellent use for it. But I recently visited Japan and purchased some instant dashi packets. It’s a convenient way to make authentic tasting dashi, as it contains a perfectly balanced blend of ingredients like katsuobushi (bonito flakes), small dried anchovies, and kombu (kelp). All you have to do is steep the packet in hot water, and in just a few minutes, you have a flavorful broth ready to go. And you don’t have to go all the way to Japan to find dashi packets, they will be at any well stocked Asian market. You can also use dashi powder as well with good results.
I amp up the dashi broth with a little light soy sauce. You can use regular soy sauce if that’s all you have on hand, but it will darken the soup.
Now it’s time to prepare the rest of the Shrimp Zosui, starting with prepping the veggies and shrimp.
If your shrimp are particularly large, chop them into smaller bite sized pieces.
Now that everything is prepped it’s time to heat the dashi and cook the Shrimp Zosui.
Serve the Shrimp Zosui while it’s piping hot, with the eggs softly scrambled, and the rice perfectly tender, it’s guaranteed to cure what ails you. Try it and let me know what you think, and don’t forget to tag @funkyasiankitchen in your food pics, we love hearing from you!
Shrimp Zosui
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: serves 2 for a light meal 1x
Ingredients
For the Broth:
- 3 ½ cups dashi stock (or 3 ½ cups water plus one 1 dashi packet or 1 teaspoon dashi powder)
- 1 Tablespoon light colored soy sauce (usukuchi)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For the Zousui:
- 6 ounces shrimp any size
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 handful of spinach (about ½ ounce)
- 1 ½ cups cooked Japanese short grain rice
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons peeled and finely minced ginger
- 2 scallions trimmed and minced
Instructions
Make the broth:
- If you have already made the dashi, you can skip this step. Otherwise, add 3 cups of water to a medium sized heavy pot. (You can use a Japanese donabe, a Korean clay pot, or a medium size dutch oven).
- Bring the water to a simmer over medium high heat and add the dashi packet.
- Let it gently simmer for a minute and then turn off the heat and steep it for another 3-5 minutes.
- Take the packet out of the liquid, gently squeezing it to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Set the broth aside as you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Finish the soup:
- If your shrimp is large, cut it into small bite sized pieces. Set aside.
- Trim the tough stems from the shiitake mushrooms and discard. Cut the mushrooms in half and then thinly slice them.
- Chop the spinach so it’s also in small pieces.
- Put the rice in a colander and rinse it under running water to remove excess starch. Shake the colander to help drain the water.
- Turn the heat to medium high and bring the dashi to a simmer. Add the soy sauce, salt, shiitake mushrooms, and the rice. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, lowering the heat to medium to maintain a simmer.
- Add the ginger, seafood and spinach, cooking for 1-2 minutes. Check the seasoning, and add a little more salt if needed.
- Scramble the egg and slowly pour it evenly over the contents of the pot, starting in the center and spiraling out to cover as much of the surface as possible.
- Cover the pot and cook for another couple minutes until the egg is mostly set. Sprinkle with the scallions and cover with the lid.
- Bring the pot to the table and serve immediately.
Notes
*You can substitute regular soy sauce but the color of the soup will be darker.
Keywords: zosui, soup, comfort meal, shrimp, japanese home cooking, healthy, fast
