Foodie Fridays: Udon Noodle Miso Soup

My husband says he could live off Japanese food. I made this for him the other day after he said he wanted to do something with a few packages of Udon noodles he found at the grocery store. They were cheap – less than $1 per package,, making this a pretty frugal soup when all was said and done. Anyway, it made such a pretty soup, and udon noodles are so satisfying in their plumpness, I thought I would share it with you.

There is no right or wrong with this soup. If you don’t like one of the vegetables, don’t use it. Feel free to substitute any Asian vegetable for the spinach too. I just used what was on hand. This soup is as frugal as you want to make it. If you desire a richer broth use extra bouillon or miso, but make sure you only put miso in at the very end to preserve the biological nutrients.

Miso provides a source of vitamin B12 for vegans, vitamin K and essential minerals copper, zinc, and manganese, which boost immune function, and support energy levels and blood vessels and bones. When I have a cold, this soup is amazing – I can literally feel the healing goodness coursing through my blood and warming my bones. Chicken soup, move your butt over!  (Not that I’ve eaten it since childhood anyway, but I digress).

Udon Noodle Miso Soup

6 cups water

2 cups water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

2 packages of Udon Noodles

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1 cup spinach

1/2 cup tofu, chopped (optional)

1-2 handfuls of bean sprouts (optional)

cilantro, choped

green onion, chopped

2 Tbsp miso paste

Directions:

Chop vegetables. Boil two pots of water, one with 2 cups of water for blanching and the other with 6 cups of water for the soup. Add boullion and mushrooms to the large pot of water.

Blanche broccoli (put in water for 30 seconds). Also place spinach and tofu at this time, also for only 30 seconds. Strain vegetables and tofu and put aside.

Place udon noodles in large pot of water with the bouillon and mushrooms and cook as per the directions. Mine only needed 3 minutes.  After three minutes add miso paste (I like brown rice miso) and whisk thoroughly. Ladle desired amount of noodle soup into bowls and add veggies and tofu to the bowls. I love doing soups this way so I can leave out the veggies that my kids won’t eat – like mushrooms.

Garnish with cilantro, bean spouts and green onion.

Serves 4-6

This post is taking part in the linkys and carnivals at Food Renegade, The Nourishing Gourmet, Designs by Gollum, Ann Kroeker, Life as Mom, Momtrends and The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Related posts:

1. Foodie Fridays: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
2. Foodie Fridays: Hearty Tomato Lentil Veggie Soup
3. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Broccoli & Potato Soup
4. Vegetarian Foodie Fridays: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad
5. Foodie Fridays: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Tags: Foodie Fridays, recipe, soup