Fallout 76: Firecap Soup

Jeff and I have been working our way through Fallout 76. Everytime I load up the game, one of the first things I do is tend to my farm and make us a bunch of food before we continue our journey. I start like any farmer starts the day, by suiting up in my hazmat suit and pumping a bunch of irradiated water. I boil it and combine it with some vegetable to give us soup for the road. I’ve found soup to be one of my favorite food items in the game because it helps keep both hunger and thirst in check. I’m always carrying soup in my pocket and as I continue to explore West Virginia, those pockets will continue to be filled with a large variety of soups.

The moment I picked up a firecap in Fallout 76, I knew I would be trying to recreate it in my kitchen. With a name like firecap and the red coloring, I assumed this mushroom would be one of the spiciest in the Wasteland. My real world equivalent to a firecap is a variety of mushrooms and kimchi. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish of spicy, fermented vegetables. I used the most common type of kimchi made from napa cabbage.

WARNING: Because of the gochujang and kimchi, this is most likely the spiciest recipe on my website. I wasn’t able to eat much of this soup, but I have a pretty low tolerance for heat. Jeff, on the other hand, has what he describes a “slightly above average” tolerance and loved the spice level. If you don’t do well with spicy food, reduce or completely remove the gochujang from the recipe. It’ll still be plenty spicy without it!.

Ingredients:
Stock
3 ½ cups water
1 kombu
4 tbsp bonito flakes
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 green onions

Soup
2 cups kimchi, pieces and juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp gochujang
2 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
3 tsp sugar
½ tsp sesame oil
½ onion, sliced
4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 king oyster mushroom, sliced
1 bunch of enoki mushroom, bottom removed
firm tofu, cut into thick large squares

Garnish
sesame seeds
green onions, sliced
rice

Over medium-high heat, add all the ingredients for the stock in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes. While it is simmering, make sure the water level stays the same. Strain the broth to remove all the pieces. Set the broth aside.

Combine the kimchi juice, soy sauce, gochujang, garlic paste, ginger paste, sugar, and sesame oil in a small boil.

Saute the onions, shiitake mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms over medium-high heat in a pot. Saute until everything has softened and slightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the bowl of mixed sauces and kimchi to the pot and stir in well. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes. Carefully add the stock and mix together really well.

Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a light simmer. Add the tofu and cook uncovered for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes, flip the tofu and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the enoki mushrooms and cook for 3 more minutes.

Serve over a bowl of rice and top with sesame seeds and green onions.

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