Spicy Noodles & Mushroom Soup

Every time I eat mushrooms, I’m surprised at how much I like them. It’s like I hold onto a memory of once eating poorly cooked mushrooms and now that’s all I expect. This recipe is a cycle of being pleasantly surprised at how good it is (rivals the ramen restaurants I usually order from), staring at leftovers in the frig and thinking I’m not going to like it again, forcing myself to heat it up, and swooning all over again.

Spicy Mushroom Soup with Noodles

by Alison Roman

3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 ½ pounds mixed mushrooms, such as maitake, oyster, cremini or shiitake, torn into bite-size pieces
1 to 2 fresh red or green chiles, such as Fresno, thinly sliced (or 3/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes)
½ cup low-sodium soy sauce, plus more to taste
¼ cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar, plus more to taste
8 to 10 ounces noodles, such as udon, soba, rice or spaghetti
2 cups herbs (tender leaves and stems), such as cilantro, mint, chives, parsley or a mix, for serving
Sesame seeds, sesame oil or both, for serving (optional)

*I've made it with both rice noodles and egg noodles. Both were amazing. Don't feel obligated to go out and buy Asian noodles for this soup. Use whatever you already have.

Keep rice vinegar (aka, rice wine vinegar) in your pantry. It may seem like a specialty ingredient, but take a look at all the recipes I use with rice vinegar: Rice Vinegar Playlist