Master Vegetarian Broth

The addition of dried shiitakes to a traditional vegetarian base, adds the depth that meat and bones usually give a stock. The flavor power behind the mushroom advances the taste of the vegetable broth and Ming offers up some delicious interpretations of classic European fare — including Three Onion Soup and a Shiitake Spinach Risotto. Ming then heads out of the kitchen and, giving an all-new meaning to the term "fresh produce," meets up with master forager, Russ Cohen in Lexington, Massachusetts to hunt for wild mushrooms. Back in the studio, Ming reinterprets another French favorite, Legumes Aux Vin, his riff on the traditional Coq au Vin. Jacques Pepin then joins him and prepares Red Snapper a la Nage. In this dish, the red snapper is combined with the delicate flavors of white wine, julienned leeks, mushrooms, and the Master Vegetarian broth.