Spring Vegetable Miso Soup with Yuba Noodles
This extra flavorful vegan miso soup has a creamy, rich broth fragrant with fresh pureed ginger and scallion. Loaded with spring vegetables, seared mushrooms, and hearty yuba noodles (or diced tofu), this soup makes a hearty main dish or flavorful start to a Japanese-inspired meal. Adapted from the Ginger Miso Ramen recipe from Bowl by Lukas Volger.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 ounce dried kombu (about 8 thin sheets, 3 or 4 inches square each)
- 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms (or other dried mushrooms; about 1 cup)
- 8 cups hot water
- 1 cup Dashi, from above
- 4 large or 6 smaller scallions, thinly sliced
- Scant ¼ cup (25 g) coarsely chopped ginger root
- 3 tablespoons (60 g) sweet white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) neutral oil such as sunflower
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, more as needed
- Remaining dashi, from above
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral oil such as sunflower, more as needed
- 6 cups thinly sliced trumpet or shiitake mushrooms (450 g)
- 1/2 bunch asparagus
- 1 cup snap peas, slivered (a few pretty halves reserved for garnish)
- 1 medium baby bok choy, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed well
- 8-10 ounces yuba sheets, cut into half-inch thick noodles and separated (soak in warm water for a few minutes if the sheets are hard to separate) or tofu in small cubes
- 1 medium purple daikon radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks (or a few pink radishes)
- 2 yellow carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- tamari (or soy sauce if gluten isn’t an issue)
- togarashi
Instructions
- 1
Combine the kombu, dried mushrooms, and hot water in a large heatproof pitcher, jar, or pot and let stand at least 30 minutes and up to several hours. Drain, squeezing the liquid out of the vegetables; discard the vegetables. Strain through a coffee filter to remove any sand that may have come from the seaweed or mushrooms.
- 2
Combine the scallions, ginger, miso, oil, vinegar, and salt in the bowl of a blender. Add 1 cup of the dashi and blend on medium-high until smooth. Strain through a medium mesh strainer to remove any rogue ginger pieces that didn’t get blended.
- 3
Heat the oil in a wide saute pan set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and a few pinches of salt. Cook, tossing and stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and golden, 5-10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms.
- 4
Snap the woody ends off of the asparagus and discard. Cut off the pretty tips and reserve. Use a T-shaped vegetable peeler to shave the asparagus into ribbons. (Alternatively, thinly slice the asparagus on the diagonal.) Have the rest of the vegetables prepared.
- 5
Bring the remaining dashi to a simmer in a large pot. Add the sauteed mushrooms and bok choy and simmer until the bok choy is crisp tender and bright green, 2-3 minutes. Add the snap peas and asparagus and cook until crisp tender, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the ginger miso broth.
- 6
Divide the yuba noodles among serving bowls. Ladle in the soup. Garnish bowls with the radish and carrots. Pass tamari and togarashi at the table so guests can season their own bowls.