Garlic-Ginger Miso Noodle Soup: Nutrient-Packed Comfort for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

When tired and not feeling up to par in the past, I would have turned to a big bowl of chicken soup. Since meat and poultry are not on my menu at present, I needed an easy vegan way to comfort and restore--like this Garlic-Ginger Miso Noodle Soup. I took a little time to brew up a garlic and ginger infused vegetable broth and then tossed in onions, mushrooms, tofu and seaweed for plenty of nutrients. The miso gets stirred in at the end, so the nutritional benefits are not boiled out. The noodles? Everyone knows that a little noodle slurping is good for the soul.


Garlic-Ginger Miso Noodle Soup
by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 2 large servings or 4 smaller servings)

1 small package noodles of choice (I used somen noodles)
Garlic-Ginger Broth (recipe below)
3 green onion white and green parts sliced thinly, plus extra green onion for garnish
5-6 shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 heaping Tbsp dried wakame seaweed
1 small package tofu, chopped
1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce, or to taste
1/4 cup white or light miso

Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, return the Garlic-Ginger broth to a soft boil and add green onion, mushrooms and dried seaweed. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add tofu and heat through, about another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in miso. Add low-sodium soy sauce to taste.

Place a serving of noodles in a large bowl and top with the soup. Garnish with thinly sliced green onions, sliced on the diagonal. Enjoy!

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Garlic-Ginger Broth

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes about 5 cups of broth)

1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped
2"-inches of fresh ginger, slightly peeled and sliced into 1/4" "coins"
1/2 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peel and coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 cups water
1 Tbsp low-sodium concentrated vegetable bouillon

Place vegetables into a large pot and add water and bouillon. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes. Strain out vegetables, pressing out liquid with the back of a wooden spoon. Return broth to pot and discard vegetables.


Notes/Results: This soup hit the spot completely and was perfect for a cool, rainy night. The ginger and garlic flavor came through in the broth and worked well with the miso and the wakame. You could of course swap out ingredients for whatever you like or have on hand, but I found this combination to be delicious. A bowl of this soup and a good night's sleep had me feeling warmed, satisfied, comforted and restored--soup for the body and the soul. ;-)

We have some good friends waiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen, let's take a look and see what they brought with them this week.

Tigerfish from Teczcape-An Escape to Food made this healthy Onion-Tomato Honey Dates Udon Soup with Supergreens and says, "Without leftover as broth, this vegetarian noodle broth can be easily and quickly made from scratch. Vegetarian broths are easy to concoct from celery, onions, carrots, fennels. But what if there are no celery and carrots? Ahhhh.....tomatoes and onions can do the trick. Mushrooms too, if only I had some, so leave that to next time. How about adding some Red or Honey Dates (Jujube) today. A really quick way to cook up something instantly."



Jaleela from CookbookJaleela is back this week with a nourishing and full-of-spices Toor Dhal Palak Soup and says, "Generally greens like Palak (Spinach) are very healthy for all. Palak has more iron content. It is especially good for kids, anemic people , pregnant women and elderly people. ... You can serve it to your family, either as a soup or mash it with plain rice and serve it as a meal."

It's always nice to see Carol of There's Always Thyme to Cook at Souper Sundays. She says, "There is nothing like a good bowl of French Onion Soup, topped with gooey cheese, melting over the toasted bread, soaking up that delicious broth. When I saw Rita's version over at Sage Cuisine I dropped my plan for lentil soup and went with the onion. This one was a little sweeter than the French Onion Soup I had made previously. We loved Rita's recipe. It was a HUGE hit."

Victoria of Flavors of the Sun is here with this exotic Roasted Eggplant Bisque with Honey-Harissa Sauce and Parmesan Crisps and says, "l first learned to love harissa when I encountered it regularly on the table as an everyday condiment in Morocco, where I lead yearly trips. Later, I found a terrific version at a favorite falafel restaurant in Paris that I will eventually try to duplicate. The version that adorns this eggplant soup is very pleasant and relatively mild. The addition of honey gives it a wonderful soft sweetness as well. I can see that it could be used for many recipes as an unusual pick-me-up."

Here's a hearty Beer Cheese Soup with Sausage from my friend Heather at girlichef. She says, "Using locally brewed beer and locally made Dyngus-style (it's that time of year) sausage along with homemade chicken stock and organic veggies and serving it in a boule of homemade bread, I think I accomplished my mission. I found the amount of flour used in the original recipe (2 cups!) to be excessive, so I cut it down by half and gave an option for thickening. The result is a rich, comforting, stick-to-your bones pot of soup reminiscent of fondue. And I'm awful fond of fondue. That's why I think it was a bonus to serve it in a bread bowl."



We have one salad this week, this Pomegranate, Snap Pea and Barley Salad with Dill and Allspice from Janet at The Taste Space. Janet says, "With a such crazy combination of ingredients in this barley salad – pomegranate, dill, allspice – I’ll give you one guess as to where this recipe came from. Not to throw you off, I added the snap peas. Your one guess….. Ottolenghi? You’d be right! ... The salad is overflowing with pomegranate arils which offers a sweet crunch, countered by the nutty barley, and accentuated by the earthy allspice and bright dill. The sugar snap peas also add a nice sweet crunch and we can always use more veggies. :)"



Some great-looking recipes this week--thanks to everyone who joined in. If you have a soup, salad, or sandwich that you would like to share, just click on the Souper Sundays logo on the side bar for all of the details.

Have a happy, healthy week!