Benihana Japanese Onion Soup

nsomniak6's Note:

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• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 4 cups canned chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 white onion
• 1/2 carrot, coarsely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 celery, coarsely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 medium mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, diced (green part only)

Directions:

1. Combine chicken broth and water in a large saucepan over high heat.
2. Slice the white onion in half, then coarsely chop one half (save the other half for later).
3. Add coarsely chopped onion, carrot, celery and salt to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to become translucent. As the broth simmers, heat up 1 cup of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
4. Slice the remaining white onion into very thin slices. Separate the slices, dip the slices into the milk, then into the flour. Fry the breaded onions, a handful at a time in the oil until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
5. When the soup has simmered for 10 minutes, strain the vegetables out of the broth and toss them out. Pour the broth back into the pan and keep it hot over low heat.
6. To serve soup, ladle about 1 cup of broth into a bowl.
7. Drop a few pieces of fried onion into the soup, followed by 6 to 8 mushroom slices (about 1 mushroom each) and a couple pinches of diced green onion. When the fried onions sink to the bottom of the bowl (a couple of minutes), serve the soup.

Reviews

[michelles3boys]

My 7 y.o. son specifically requested that I find a recipe for the soup that is served at Japanese restaurants. This one sounded the closest, so I gave it a try. It turned out really good. My son ate 2 bowls of it. He said to give this recipe 5 stars. I found that simmering everything together for 10 minutes did not give nearly enough flavor, so I simmered it for around 30 minutes. I also added a dash of black pepper to spice it up a bit. I did not add the fried onions, because I knew nobody in my family would eat them. *Update* I have made this so many times I can't even count. I have tweaked the recipe a bit and now it REALLY tastes like the soup served at our favorite Japanese restaurant. I make the recipe as stated, except I also add about a tablespoon of beef bouillon granules, and 1/8 tsp. of ginger. Boy, that really adds to the flavor of the broth!! I think adding ginger is key. The soup is so rich and delicious! Can you tell I'm excited about this! Now I can make our favorite soup at home!!

[rysharen]

This soup is awesome I made it and it was easy to make and was delicious.

[Spoan]

I made this pretty close to the original, plus the 1 TBSP beef bouillon and 1/8 tsp ginger, as suggested by the other reviewer. I started the soup by sauteeing the veggies in a little butter before I added the liquids. I also threw in a whole green onion while cooking. DELICIOUS :)