In-the-moment miso soup

This soup is so quick to make and helps you get your daily dose of probiotics. You can keep it really basic or create a full meal in a bowl.

You all know those evenings when you realize you’re short on groceries and start scrounging around in the fridge trying to think of something that’s easy to make. For me, this is often the case the day before my organic produce box arrives, when the fridge is fairly empty.

Well, I needed to think of something quick and effortless for dinner. And, since it happened to be a cold, wintry night and we all had the sniffles, I decided that miso soup was a must.

What is miso?

Miso is a fermented soybean paste, traditional to Japanese cooking. Fermented foods act as a probiotic, helping to generate healthy gut bacteria. Eating just a small “dose” of these foods on a daily basis can be great for the tummy.

This is honestly the easiest soup you can make in a pinch. And you can jazz it up or down depending on your mood and the state of your fridge and pantry. I recommend keeping the ‘must-have’ ingredients stocked at all times.

Meal-in-a-bowl miso soup

(2 servings)

Ingredients:

Must haves

• ¼ cup wakame seaweed, soaked for 10 min.

• 4 shiitake mushrooms, soaked for 10 min.

• 5 cups water

• 2-3 tbsp miso paste*

• 1 tbsp tamari

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

*The miso I’ve seen in the local health food stores are usually combined with brown rice or barley, so opt for the brown rice version if you’re gluten free.

Optional add-ins

• 1 cup chopped green veggies of choice (my favorites – cabbage + broccoli)

• 2 eggs, soft boiled or 2 handfuls cooked, shredded chicken or 2 handfuls chopped tofu

• Soba noodles, cooked

• Garnish – 1 green onion, sliced

Instructions:

1. In two separate bowls, place seaweed and mushrooms in temperate water to soak.

2. Fill a medium-sized pot with water, add in optional veggies, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a medium simmer.

3. After 10 minutes, cut mushrooms into slices and add to the pot. Replace lid, and let cook for another 5-10 minutes.

4. To serve - Ladle out a small amount of broth into two large soup bowls. Add 1 tbsp of miso paste to each bowl and mix thoroughly until the miso is fully dissolved. (You can add more miso to taste if desired). Now, ladle out the rest of the soup, dividing the vegetables and broth evenly across the bowls.

5. Add 1.5 teaspoons each of tamari and coconut oil to each bowl and mix in.

6. Remove seaweed from soaking bowl, give a squeeze to drain off excess water, and divide it across the bowls.

7. Add in your protein – egg, tofu, or chicken, and a handful of soba noodles if using.

8. Top off with a sprinkle of green onion.

*TIP – Whenever using miso paste, always add it in at the end of the cooking process. This is to preserve its fermentation qualities, which would otherwise be destroyed by cooking.