Daikon Radish Soup with Pork & Shiitake Mushrooms (Tsai Tao Di Ba Tung)

A staple in the Taiwanese household - and it certainly was in ours as this was mom's go-to soup for lunch, back in the day. The ingredients are few and simple, but very flavorful and nutritious. Mom used a pork stock made from pork ribs as the soup base, but I like to combine a pork-based stock with some chicken base to round out the flavors. Daikon radish and dried shiitakes are readily available in Asian markets and even many supermarkets these days. Hondashi is a Japanese bonito-flavored seasoning which adds great umami flavor to the soup, but ok to omit if you can't find it.