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5 from 2 votes

Easy Asian Vegetable Broth

This easy Asian vegetable broth is versatile and flavorful. It includes leek, mushroom, carrot, ginger, garlic, kombu, and daikon radish. Adds rich veggie flavor to any savory dish.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 44 ounces
Author: Thomas

Ingredients

  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 pound carrots (230 grams)
  • 1/4 pound daikon radish or other radish or celery (115 grams)
  • 1/4 pound leek or white or yellow onion (115 grams)
  • 1/4 pound yellow squash (115 grams)
  • 1/4 pound white mushrooms (115 grams)
  • 1 thumb ginger (25 grams or 0.8 ounces)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 piece kombu (3x4 inches or 7.5x10 centimeters)
  • 50 fluid ounces water 1.5 liters

Instructions

  • Wash all of the ingredients thoroughly (except the kombu and salt). Peel the ginger. Slice the carrots, daikon, mushrooms, squash, leek, ginger, and garlic thinly.
  • Heat the oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. When the saucepan is hot, add all the ingredients, including the salt, but excluding the kombu. Stir for the next 10 minutes, distributing the salt evenly and preventing any ingredients from becoming too browned (a little bit of browning is OK). Reduce the heat if you notice any burning or if any ingredient is browning quickly.
  • Add the water and kombu and stir well. Bring the water to a boil, reduce to low heat, and cover the saucepan. Simmer covered for 1 hour.
  • Use a large mesh strainer to strain the broth. Set the cooked vegetables aside.
  • Use the broth as prescribed in another recipe or transfer to an airtight container and put it in the fridge for later use.

Notes

This recipe produces a medium-dark colored broth. For a lighter broth, skip the mushrooms. For a darker broth, you can include 2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms.
If you’d like the broth to be extra fragrant, double the amount of ginger and garlic.
The broth will stay good for a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
See the blog post content for a suggestion on how to make a soup from the boiled vegetables.