Vegan "Beef" Broth

 I wanna start by bragging about how good I am at cooking. Seriously. I used to make a broth from Bon Appetite but I just kicked that broth's ass. On my first try developing my own broth from scratch! And even better, IT TASTES LIKE BEEF. It even smells like beef broth *insert gif of that baby whispering "I smell like beef"*. Vegan versions of french onion soup, beef chili, and all types of soups from my childhood are suddenly available without paying out the ass for a niche brand of broth. I'm so excited to introduce these dishes in a way that is accessible to people whether they eat meat or not. 

Now for some tips:

Broth is one of those things that isn't hard to make once you understand the basics but is incredibly easy to fuck up before hand so here are some of the things I've learned while on my journey to making the beefiest vegetable broth around:

1. Using scraps to make a good stock is a myth (for the most part). While it is true that you can use parts of the vegetables one would usually throw out (the roots of scallions, tops/leaves of celery stalks, and onion skins to name a few), keep in mind that your broth with have the flavor of whatever you put in. If you make a stock using scraps that are mostly potato skins and carrot tops, you'll have a soup flavored like potato skins and carrot tops. Be smart and picky about what scraps you choose to use or just don't use scraps.
2. Cut your vegetables as thin as possible! Unlike Moto Moto, we do not like 'em (our veggies) big or chunky. To get the most flavor out of every ingredient, it's best to create as much surface area as possible so the flavor can be pulled out into the soup. There are some exceptions such as garlic which I usually just cut a whole bulb in half or spices which should be whole spices. The majority of the time, however, you'll want to slice as thin as you can or at the very least crush the veggie to let the flavor to escape. 
3. Caramelize your veggies! You may be used to crockpot broth recipes that just drop veggies in water and go. That's why veggie broth has a bad rep. Precook those bitches!! Use low heat so you don't burn anything and let them get beautifully brown. This will enhance all of the flavors in your broth ten fold.
4. Add umami.  This is specifically for veggie broth. What makes many veggie broths fail is a lack of depth. It's like drinking a soft drink from restaurant that adds too much water to their soda dispensers. The flavor exists but only at surface level and it leaves you wanting. The secret to overcoming that is umami. Umami is one of the 5 basic tastes and means savoriness. It's a flavor that you only really notice once it's missing. Lucky for us, umami is found in all types of things: mushrooms, seaweed, miso, and tomatoes to name a few. In this recipe, I add 3 sources of umami: doenjang (fermented bean paste), kombu (a type of seaweed), and shiitake mushrooms. By adding some of these foods to the broth, we develop a more satisfying and rich broth.
5. The key to a rich broth is reduction. You may be tempted to stop reducing your broth early hoping for a higher volume of broth. After all, watching your soup reduce by half can be disheartening. But thou shalt not give in to temptation! What we are really doing when we make broth is steeping a bunch of plants in water to draw out their flavor and then boiling off the water so we are left with a concentrated broth. If you don't reduce enough, it won't taste good.

And that's about it! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. If you make this broth, tag me on instagram! @_sexyraddish_ 

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Vegan "Beef" Broth

Ingredients: 

• 2 large (3 medium) yellow onions, sliced thin
• 1 large (2 medium) carrots (~2 cups), sliced thin
• 2 stalks celery or 1 stalk plus the tops/leaves of the whole bunch (~2 cups), crushed/sliced thin
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme
• 1 medium daikon radish (~1 1/2 cups), sliced thin
• 5 inch piece of kombu, cut into 1 inch squares
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, if using whole mushrooms, break them up
• 1 bulb garlic, cut in half horizontally 
• 3 tablespoons doenjang (fermented soy bean paste)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 5 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon rosemary 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1 gallon water
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare all of your veggies and mix them together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. 
2. Mix doenjang and water then mix in the olive oil. 
3. Pour it onto the bowl of veggies and mix thoroughly. Make sure each piece is coated with the sauce.
4. Spread the coated veggies out on a baking sheet or roasting pan and bake in the oven @300ºF for 1 hour or until they are brown and caramelized.
5. Once baked, transfer them to a stock pot. Pour a cup of water into the baking sheet and scrape any remaining pieces up and pour that in with the vegetables. Don't leave any of the flavor behind!
6. Now add the spices (black peppercorns, bay leaves, rosemary, and ground sage) and the remaining water (1 gallon total)
7. Bring to a boil on medium high and let reduce for an hour or until it has reduced by half. 
8. Once reduced, ladle some into a small bowl, salt, and taste it to make sure it is rich enough for your liking. If so, pour the broth through a mesh strainer to separate out the vegetables and spices. Do not press down on the vegetables to try and get more liquid out. Just let it sit and drip naturally. 
9. Now salt the broth to your taste. It will seem incredibly bland before you add the salt so don't be shocked if you feel you are adding a lot.
   
10. And finally, use how ever you want! It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and frozen for up to 3 months.