Miso soup is soul food for me.
When I’m feeling a little funky or under the weather, I turn to miso soup to help nourish and revive me.
There are a lot of ways to prepare Miso soup, so I’ll give you the basics for me:
Miso base (I use white miso or barley miso)
Greens (I use kale, but you can use spinach, arugula, or chard, depending on your taste)
Protein (I like to use steamed edamame, but you could use tofu or seitan if you prefer something more dense)
Seaweed (I use this kind but you can also buy other types of seaweed and cut them into thin strips yourself)
Veggies (I add in shiitake mushrooms — I know, not veggies, but you could use broccoli, sweet potato, peas — pretty much anything to your taste)
Grain (I use barley or these awesome Adzuki Bean noodles, which are super protein rick, made by this company but you could use any other noodles or pasta as well)
Here’s how I do it:
Cook the grain.
Steam the edamame.
Heat the water for miso (about 2 cups) — it should NEVER BOIL. Just get very very very warm. Once the water is heated, pour half of the water into a glass measuring cup with 2 TBS of miso in it. Stir very well with a whisk until all miso clumps are incorporated.
In the water still in the pot, add in the seaweed — your discretion. depends on how much you want, but remember seaweed expands and grows much bigger in water.
Pour the miso broth back into the seaweed water.
Heat some oil in a saucepan. Cook the mushrooms and kale with a little soy sauce, until shrooms are soft and kale is bright green.
Add everything to a bowl (or 2 if you’re sharing).
Slurp it up and feel deeply nourished!
PS…My kids actually love miso soup, too. I omit the mushrooms and keep it simple for them. Barley or protein spaghetti plus peas plus a little seaweed plus miso broth. I send my daughter to school with miso soup. It’s seriously one of the few things she eats.
If you are going to give miso to kids, make sure that you start with the white miso, which is a little more mild!
