Miso soup is one of the staples of Japanese cuisine and there are many variations of it including vegetarian and seafood versions. As a lover of noodles and dishes with lots of vegetables, this recipe is a no brainer if you're a fellow veggie lover like me. Also, miso paste is made from fermented soybeans and like kimchi has lots of antioxidants, enzymes, vitamin K, vitamin B-12, and adds beneficial bacteria to your gut because of the fermenting process. Miso comes in a variety of types and flavors ranging from mildly sweet, mildly salty, and richer in flavor. Miso can also be used for salad dressing, stir fries, sauces as well as used to make soups more flavorful. Wakame seaweed also is one of the few kinds of edible seaweed that is as delicious as it is healthy. Wakame is low in calories, has iodine, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, phosphorous, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A.
If you're looking for an easy soup that is healthy and delicious or if you already love miso soup look no further!
Ingredients:
-2 bundles dried udon noodles (I use the Jbasket brand from Amazon)
-1/3 cup rehydrated dried wakame seaweed
-1 cup edamame (taken out of the pods)
-1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
-1/2 cup chopped baby bella mushrooms
-1/2 cup julienned carrots
-5 cups water
-3 tbs. white or yellow miso paste (I use Marukome)
-2 tsp. Hondashi (instant Japanese soup stock)
-2 tbs. soy sauce
-1 tbs. minced garlic
-1 tbs. mirin
-2 tsp. sugar
-2 tsp. sesame oil
-chopped green onions for serving
Note: You can find miso paste and instant dashi and all of their varieties in Asian grocery stores and on Amazon. There are three kinds of miso with the mildly sweet and salty ones being white and yellow miso that are lighter in color and the dark red ones are richer in flavor because they've been fermented longer.
Steps:
Cook the udon noodles, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside. In a small bowl, add the dried wakame and enough water to cover the seaweed. Let the seaweed sit for 8 minutes then drain the water and set aside. In a small bowl, add the miso paste and whisk in some hot water until it becomes smooth. This makes sure that the miso won't be clumpy when added to the soup.
In a pot, bring the water to a boil. Add everything except for the noodles, miso, green onions, and the wakame seaweed. Cook on medium heat for 6 minutes. Mix the miso into the soup broth. Turn off the heat. Serve with the udon noodles, wakame seaweed, and the green onions. Enjoy!
Note: If the udon noodles are sticking together when you are about to serve them, rinse them with cold water again.
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