I found inspiration for this soup in a dish I first tasted shortly after I arrived in San Francisco nearly three decades ago. Before moving here from New York, one of the partners at my firm there recommended a tiny hole in the wall on edge of Chinatown. (Good information like that can be the gift of a lifetime. We still go there regularly, counting it among our all-time favorite places to eat in the gastronomic paradise.) The dish that inspired this recipe, a fragrant, soupy concoction called “Country Style Vegetables,” introduced me those many years ago to fermented black beans. They transform this soup. I've drafted this as a vegan recipe, but please feel free to use chicken stock if you prefer. Also, if you don't have doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste) you can use red miso instead, added at the very end, or fish sauce if you don't care whether it's vegan, or just add more soy sauce, a bit at a time, to taste. This is simple food, but satisfying, Enjoy! ;o)

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