I have only made this dish once, and that time I used a powdered soup mix. I only had a tiny backpacking skillet and a jetboil.

This recipe is adapted from this egg flower soup recipe.

Ingredients

– 4 cups chicken stock
– 1 cup matsutake mushroom (thinly sliced)
– 1/4 cup sliced salami/sausage (optional)
– 1-2 teaspoons sesame oil
– Salt, to taste
– Sugar, a pinch (optional)
– Pepper, to taste
– 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
– 2 eggs, beaten
– 1 scallion, finely chopped

Instructions

Prepare the Chicken Stock: In a large pot, bring the 4 cups of chicken stock to a boil.

Cook Mushrooms: Add the sliced matsutake mushrooms to the broth and cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until they are tender

Season the Soup: Add sesame oil, salt, sugar (if using), and pepper to the boiling stock. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Thicken the Soup: Stir the cornstarch and water mixture until smooth. Slowly pour this into the boiling soup, stirring continuously. The soup will start to thicken slightly.

Add the Eggs: Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. While stirring the soup in a circular motion, slowly pour in the beaten eggs. The eggs will cook instantly and form silky threads or “flowers” in the soup.

Finish with Scallion: Turn off the heat and sprinkle the chopped scallion over the soup.

Serve: Give the soup a final stir and serve it hot.

Backstory

Kristi and I spent 10 days hiking in Washington one summer and we had just finished an overnight trip on the coast. On our walk back to the car we spotted a large mushroom near the trail. I stopped to take a photo and realized it was a matsutake. I still get excited every time I see them.

I picked it but didn’t have a plan for how to use it. We did have a packet of egg drop soup mix and a little oil. We cut the matsutake into pretty thick slices (thinner is probably better), and sauteed it in our backpacking skillet with some salami or sausage. Once cooked, I added it to the egg drop soup made from a package mix.

It was amazing! Of course, a huge part of my excitement was simply getting to eat a matsutake but the texture of the mushroom is really nice in soup. The funky, sweet, cinnamon candy scent was noticeable while eating the soup however the real surprise was still tasting it in my mouth 20 minutes later.

You can learn more about identifying matsutake here but please remember that this is not a beginner-level mushroom. You must be able to reliably distinguish between this and Amanita smithiana before attempting to identify this on your own.