This soup is one of our go to recipes for week night dinners when we have a lot of CSA veggies kicking around. It’s also great when anyone in the house is feeling a little under the weather-the garlic and ginger are good for colds and miso is warm and nourishing. This is definitely not a traditional miso soup! It’s one that’s evolved over the years. Feel free to play around with it to suit your tastebuds. Pretty much anything goes. This comes together very quickly, as you boil the water, prepare the vegetables, everything gets a quick boil and is seasoned table side. In addition to the daikon radish, I got out last week’s mizuna, napa cabbage, some carrots, and a large turnip. This recipe makes a very large batch (10-12 servings) so feel free to reduce the recipe by half for less soup.
I filled my largest stockpot about 3/4 full and set it on the stove to boil with about a teaspoon of sea salt. The miso is so rich you really don’t need vegetable stock here but you can add some if you like. While the water boils prep the veggies. I like to peel the carrots and daikon into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler. It goes by very quickly and makes nice long ribbons that go well with the noodles. They could also be julienned (cut into matchsticks) or sliced thinly into any shape. When you get down to the last bit of carrot and daikon that are harder to peel, just slice them as thin as you can.
Slice any other veggies into thin uniform bite-size pieces. Flavor the boiling water with garlic and ginger. I don’t use ginger root very often, so I usually buy a big piece and store it in the freezer. When I need some for a recipe I pull it out, grate what I need, and put the rest back in the freezer for next time. Add the vegetables in order of cooking times, then the noodles. Leftover rice also works well here in place of the noodles. When the noodles are done the soup is ready to serve. Miso is live-cultured so it’s best used uncooked, to get the nutritional benefits. (Although sometimes we cook it – the flavor is great!) Since we usually make this soup in large batches I learned this trick from my old roommate who’s father is Japanese. Add the miso into each bowl separately, about a tablespoon per bowl, more or less if you like. Add a little bit of the cooking water and then mix the miso until well combined. Add the soup on top.
We use a variety of these seasonings at the table to season the soup. You might have others in your kitchen that will work great here. Experiment! We also garnish this soup with a lime. In the summer cilantro and scallions are a great addition. This soup is gluten-free because we use gluten-free tamari, but if you use regular soy sauce or shoyu it would not be considered gluten free.
Miso Noodle Soup
4 – 6 cups thinly sliced vegetables and greens like turnips, radishes, carrot, cabbage, greens, etc.
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 – 4 quarts water
Rice Stir-Fry Noodles
Miso paste, 1 tablespoon per serving
Condiments to serve with including but not limited to, Gluten Free Tamari, Rice Vinegar, Sriracha Hot Sauce, Ume Plum Vinegar, Sesame Seeds
Fill a large stockpot 3/4 of the way with water. Bring to a boil.
While the water is boiling, prep the vegetables. Cut carrots and daikon into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Chop turnip in half, then thinly slice both halves. Cut slices into larger triangles. Shred napa cabbage. Cut mizuna into bite size pieces. Mince garlic. Grate ginger.
Once the water is boiling add garlic and ginger, then vegetables in order of cooking times. If using this variety vegetables add turnips and boil 4 minutes. Add rest of veggies then boil 3-4 minutes. Add rice noodles and cook according to package directions. Remove soup from stove.
Place about 1 tablespoon miso paste in each bowl. Ladle some cooking water over the miso paste to dissolve. Once paste is dissolved ladle soup into each bowl. Bring a variety of condiments to the table for serving. Garnish with a lime on top.
Variations. To round this meal out with a protein we love a fried egg on top. You could also add baked tofu, avocado slices, or grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak.
