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

★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆ No reviews

• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: serves 2 for a light meal 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

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

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

Make the broth:

1. 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).
2. Bring the water to a simmer over medium high heat and add the dashi packet.
3. Let it gently simmer for a minute and then turn off the heat and steep it for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Take the packet out of the liquid, gently squeezing it to extract as much liquid as possible.
5. Set the broth aside as you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Finish the soup:

1. If your shrimp is large, cut it into small bite sized pieces. Set aside.
2. Trim the tough stems from the shiitake mushrooms and discard. Cut the mushrooms in half and then thinly slice them.
3. Chop the spinach so it’s also in small pieces.
4. Put the rice in a colander and rinse it under running water to remove excess starch. Shake the colander to help drain the water.
5. 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.
6. Add the ginger, seafood and spinach, cooking for 1-2 minutes. Check the seasoning, and add a little more salt if needed.
7. 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.
8. Cover the pot and cook for another couple minutes until the egg is mostly set. Sprinkle with the scallions and cover with the lid. 
9. 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

There’s something so comforting about a bowl of rich, creamy soup when the weather cools down, and roasted chestnut soup is one of those holiday season classics I look forward to each year. This soup is unusual, a little mysterious, and has a rich but light flavor. Plus chestnuts! I love them and they are so underutilized, so I try and find as many uses for them as I can. My recipe adds an unexpected twist by starting with a quick katsuobushi broth. Don’t worry – there’s no fishiness here, just a beautiful trace of a slightly smoky layer that brings out the sweetness of the chestnuts.

Roasted chestnut soup makes a very elegant starter for a holiday dinner party, but it couldn’t be easier to prepare. Plus this is a great way to use up those chestnuts we roasted together last week! If you’re looking for a holiday starter or a warm-up treat for winter chilled nights this soup is the one, so let’s get into it!

I start making my Roasted Chestnut Soup by steeping a katsuobushi broth. Katsuobushi, also known as bonito flakes, is made from dried, smoked, and fermented skipjack tuna. It has an absolutely beguiling smell, and adds a subtle smokiness. You can find it in most well stocked Asian/Japanese markets and of course online.

This stock is amazing because it’s almost instant. You only need 10 mins of steeping and you get a beautiful golden broth. No cooking necessary. As soon as the water comes to a boil, dump the flakes in, and take the pot off of the heat.

While that’s steeping I move on to dicing and sautéing my onions.

Keep an eye on the onions; we want them nice and soft but not browned; caramelized onions would overpower the chestnut flavor. Slow and low is the way to go. Turn down the heat a little if you start to see some color. When the onions are translucent, I add the other ingredients. Strain the broth straight into the pot and press down on the solids to get all of the liquid.

I let it simmer, covered, for about  five minutes. The fragrance will start to fill your kitchen and then it’s time to blend it. Very carefully transfer the soup to your blender. Make sure you don’t go over the maximum fill line-better to blend in two batches. Also, you will want to leave the feed tube open and covered tightly with a kitchen towel. Then pulse the soup slowly at first to blend it. This is so you don’t build up steam and pressure in the blender cup which could end up burning you or result in roasted chestnut soup on your ceiling…If all of that sounds too hazardous, you can either use an immersion blender or simply let the soup cool off before blending.

The only thing left to do is taste for seasoning and serve. I’ve served the soup simply here but a splash of heavy cream, a garnish with some additional chopped roasted chestnuts, or a little splash of sherry wouldn’t be out of place either, tis the season!

In our house, we love serving this with a side of bread – the rich creaminess of roasted chestnut soup practically begs for a good dunk.

I hope this rich and creamy take on Roasted Chestnut Soup adorns your holiday table this year; it’s so easy and your guests will love its sophisticated East meets West flavors. So grab those roasted chestnuts, or pick up some bags of ready to eat bags at the store, and get ready to enjoy a soup that’s as warm and inviting as the season itself. Let me know what you think below, and tag us in your pics @funkyasiankitchen, we love hearing from you!

Roasted Chestnut Soup

★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆ No reviews

• Author: Funky Asian Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: serves 4
• Category: soup
• Cuisine: pan-Asian

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Broth:

• 4 cups water 
• ¼ ounce katsuo bushi (a small handful)

Soup:

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cups roasted and peeled chestnuts, about 12 ounces
• 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper to taste

Garnish:

• A couple tablespoons of heavy cream
• A couple tablespoons chopped chestnuts
• Some parsley sprigs

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Make the broth: Bring the water to a boil in a small pot. Add the katsuo bushi and turn the heat off.
2. Let the katsuo bushi steep for at least 10 minutes while continuing with the soup.
3. Make the soup: Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat for several minutes.
4. Add the butter and onions. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the onions are very soft and translucent. Lower the heat a little  if the onions start to brown. 
5. Add the chestnuts, maple syrup, salt, and ground pepper. Pour the broth into the pot using a strainer. Discard or repurpose the used katsuo bushi. 
6. Bring to a simmer over high heat and then cover with a lid and lower the heat to medium. Simmer the soup for 5-7 minutes.
7. Carefully transfer the soup to a blender. Open the feeding tube, cover the opening with a kitchen towel, and carefully pulse the soup at first (these are precautions to keep the hot soup from bursting out of the blender cup). Blend the soup until smooth. 
8. Pour the soup back into a clean pot and check for seasoning. The soup should be creamy and slightly thick. Add a little water if it seems too thick. 
9. Serve immediately with a splash of heavy cream, a sprinkling of chestnuts, or a sprig of parsley.

---

Notes

*To make this vegetarian, swap the bonito stock for vegetable stock.

Keywords: roasted chestnuts, holiday, soup, katsuobushi