This is one of my family’s favorite meals to eat – all year round. It’s non-traditional, I don’t think that Japanese miso soup would include noodles or so many veggies. It’s also great with other Asian components, like the addition of kimchi, sriracha hot sauce, shoyu, etc. This soup is great for eating seasonally and CSA shares! In the fall try it with winter squash, turnips, greens, and roots like this version. Summer versions with radishes, delicate greens, and even cucumber are light and refreshing. To round out this meal we love it with a fried egg, but you could also try poached eggs, grilled chicken or shrimp, and baked tofu or tempeh. Just about everything about this soup is customizable! Perfect for clearing out the fridge before you get a new CSA share.
All of the vegetables in this batch are great raw or lightly cooked, they go well together. The kohlrabi is from our second planting – kohlrabi is very versatile and the larger ones can usually be stretched over more than one recipe. I used half for this soup, and half for a Thai Peanut Salad. Cut everything into bite size pieces. I tried adding cucumber on a whim, and I really enjoyed it lightly cooked! Remove the seeds and thinly slice. Leave the peels on. Radishes are not just for salads, and I love them lightly cooked. The texture and flavor change into something really mild and pleasant.
Use a sharp knife to remove all of the skin and outer edge of the kohlrabi. Slice into small matchsticks. When the water is boiling add all of the vegetables, if you change up the variety of veggies reserve any quick cooking greens until the end of cooking time. The vegetables in this version are relatively similar so I added them all at the same time, with the noodles. The vegetables and noodles were ready in about 5 minutes. Check the package of your noodles to determine cooking time.
When I first started making miso soup I would make a large batch and add all of the miso to the pot. If you’ve used miso before then you’ll know that there are health benefits to leaving the miso uncooked. A large batch of miso soup is difficult to reheat without cooking the miso completely. Here’s a tip I learned from a Japanese friend. Add the miso to the individual bowls – this way each bowl is flavored to each person’s preferences. Store any leftover soup in the refrigerator and add the miso to individual bowls when reheating.
Summer Vegetable Miso Noodle Soup serves 6
4 cups mixed summer vegetables, julienned (try radish, summer squash, cucumber, kohlrabi, pepper, carrot, etc.)
10 cups water
6 tablespoons miso per bowl (more or less depending on taste preferences)
8 oz package rice, udon, or soba noodles
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
Optional: cilantro & 6 fried or poached local eggs
To serve: shoyu or tamari soy sauce, sriracha hot sauce, chili powder, etc.
Bring the water to boil in a large stockpot. Add vegetables and noodles to boiling water, simmer for 5 minutes. Adjust cooking time if necessary based on cooking directions for your noodles.
Place 1 tablespoon miso in each bowl. Ladle a small amount of hot soup liquid over each spoonful of miso. Let sit, then mix into a paste. Divide soup between all of the bowls. (Use tongs for the noodles and vegetables, and a ladle for the liquid). Top each bowl with a fried or poached egg, and cilantro. Serve with condiments like shoyu or tamari and sriracha hot sauce for garnish.
