FIERY MISO SOUP
A soup to warm the coldest nights
This fiery miso-based soup will burn away cold-related misery
I woke up feeling awful one Wednesday. (Which Wednesday is unimportant). I felt like I hadn't slept half enough, like someone had snuck into my room overnight to stuff my nose (and brain) full of cotton wool. I trudged to work in the tradition of the great trudgers of yore, steps heavy with exaggerated self-pity, and strugged through the morning. Then, midway through a miserable day, an idea cut through my malaise: tonight, I would make miso soup. I clung to the idea like a delicious life buoy, lighter and happier knowing I had something planned that would brighten my day.
Hours later when I got home, supplies from the Asia Market on Dublin's Drury St in hand. I hadn't been to the market since my girlfriend and I moved in together, and it was one of the first joys of moving in together to buy supplies for meals I knew I would cook for us both in such a wonderful market. You don't need to pay an arm and a leg for ingredients, and I think there is a wonderful peace in buying ingredients in a place like Asia Market, which is generally a bit cheaper than supermarkets and has really great ingredients that you know you can make something delicious from. There are plenty of Asian markets in Dublin, and chances are your city is the same.
I especially recommend buying a tub of miso paste. I'm a relative novice when it comes to using this delicious, salty, fermented soybean paste (that description is really drawing in the omnivores, I can feel my readership grow as I type...), but it has made for some delicious meals so far, and I'm looking forward to exploring its use further.
When most people talk about miso soup being a comfort food, they're referring to the mild, gentle version often served in Japanese restaurants as a side. However, when I have a cold I tend to want to burn it with fire, so I've added a fair few chilli flakes here. With that said, you can leave them out if you prefer a gentle version. I've also added a lot of noodles, because my appetite is frankly voracious.
This soup is incredibly simple and quick to cook (making it all the more perfect for when you have a cold). This version has plenty of filling green veg, tofu and noodles, but should still be ready to eat in under half an hour. It's so simple but so satisfying, and while I can't claim it cured my cold, if definitely made me feel a lot less miserable about it.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 spring onions (or scallions, depending on your location), chopped
2 tsp fresh or frozen ginger, chopped
2 heads of pak choi*, sliced
175g sugarsnap peas, chopped into thirds
185g frozen peas
Large handful shredded spinach
250g tofu puff**, sliced into thin strips 1 inch long and 1/2 inch thick
4 cups cold water
2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp ground star anise
3/4 cup miso paste
400g wheat noodles
* This is readily available in Asian markets and even a lot of supermarkets (I bought it in Dunnes on George's St), but if you can't get it, try 300g kale or tenderstem broccoli, finely sliced.
**I used tofu puff, which you can buy in Asian markets, because I wasn't up for the draining and frying or baking process you need to go through to get crispy tofu if you buy a block of tofu in brine. If you prefer that way of doing it, or if you can't find tofu puff, I recommend Cookie and Kate's method, which really easily produces the best tofu I've ever made. If you're cooking the tofu from scratch, do it before making the soup, because the soup really does come together very quickly.
Method
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep saucepan on medium-high. When it's hot enough to cover the entire base, add the ginger and spring onions and cook until softened and fragrant.
Add the tofu puff. Cook for one minute.
Add the green vegetables and stir-fry for three minutes.
Add the dried spices and stir until the vegetables and tofu are thoroughly coated.
Add the miso paste, mixing thoroughly with the vegetables and tofu.
Add the water and noodles. Cook, stirring regularly, until the soup is piping hot, the miso paste is completely mixed with the liquid, and the noodles are soft.