Japanese Miso Noodle Soup for #Food of the World

By Pavani @napavani
For this month's #Food of the World event, we are visiting the beautiful country of Japan. My knowledge of Japanese food is very limited and I've only eaten it a couple of times. We have a Mitsuwa close to our house with a huge food court, but I didn't find many vegetarian options there, so never really tasted Japanese food outside except for the couple of dishes I made at home.
As I was looking for Japanese recipes to make, I found this simple Miso noodle soup recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine. I had all the ingredients on hand, so made it right away. It is a light and tasty soup. I slurped the entire bowl you see in the picture :-) I added a few dashes of hot sauce to spice it up but otherwise it is a great tasting soup.
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made by fermenting soybeans with salt and a fungus, known as koji in Japanese and sometimes rice, barley or other ingredients. Miso is a thick paste that is used for sauces and spreads, pickling veggies and to make soups. It is high in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals.
Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times: Ingredients: Bean thread noodles - 2 oz.
Fresh Shiitake or Button Mushrooms - 1 cup, sliced
Scallions - 4, thinly sliced into white & green parts
Carrot - 1 small, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced on diagonal
Shelled Edamame - 1cup
Baby Spinach - 2cups
Fresh Ginger - 1tsp, grated
Dark Miso - 4~6tbsp
Toasted Sesame oil - to taste
Tamari Soy sauce - to taste
Salt - to taste
Method:
  • Put noodles in a bowl with hot water, cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
  • Heat 2tsp oil in a saucepan, add scallion whites, mushrooms and carrot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mushrooms begin to soften, for about 2 minutes.
  • Add 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add edamame and cook for 4 minutes.
  • Drain noodles, and add to the pot along with spinach and ginger. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until edamame are tender. Stir in scallion greens.
  • Whisk 4tbsp miso into 1 cup of warm water.
  • Reduce heat to low, and stir in miso into soup. Add more miso for a more intense flavor, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Add sesame oil and tamari to taste. Serve hot. I served it with broiled eggplants.

Please visit our cohosts blogs and follow their sites!  Diane: http://www.simplelivingeating.com  Adelina: http://www.homemaidsimple.com  Shey: http://justnotthecakes.blogspot.com  Mireille: http://www.theschizochef.com/blog/ Usha: http://www.myspicykitchen.net Pavani: http://www.cookshideout.com
Subscribe to our mailing list 
Submit your Japanese recipes using the linky tool below:
An InLinkz Link-up