Asian Veggie Noodle Soup

Lisa at Micro of the MacroJanuary 15, 2021August 15, 2021Nutrition, Recipeclean eating, Immunity, raw food benefits, shiitakes, soy foods

As funny as it may sound, this recipe will forever take me back to memories of Northern New Mexico. It was in a small hostel there that I first had a soup similar to this prepared by another hostel guest, a young Japanese girl who was selling it for $2 a bowl. It was so fresh and delicious that, once I returned home, I immediately searched for a similar recipe on the internet. The closest one I could find was a Soba Noodle Soup by Rachael Ray, which I modified for the recipe below.

Not only is this soup crunchy with raw, colorful veggies & peanuts, but it’s also earthy from the reconstituted mushrooms, filling from the tofu and noodles, and have I mentioned incredibly delicious? It is versatile as well. If you don’t like one or more of the veggies in it, replace them with something you do like. If you’d rather not eat it with noodles, toss in some cooked brown rice. If you enjoy a “brothier” soup, use fewer veggies, noodles & tofu cubes.

Is this versatile, delicious soup good for you? Indeed it is. Gabriel Cousens, MD, author of Conscious Eating, says that raw vegetables have more enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, structured water, and other merits as compared with cooked veggies. Shiitakes have properties that enhance immune function and reduce inflammation, thereby helping prevent cancer, according to The World’s Healthiest Foods. And the American Heart Association urges us to replace some of the animal foods we eat with soy foods to cut our risk of cardiac disease.

I hope you’ll enjoy this healthy soup as much as I do! Please let me know in the comments below if you give it a go! And if you like this recipe, please check out my other recipes under the Categories link of this site.

Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients (use all organic and/or non-GMO ingredients if possible)
1 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms
1 cup of boiling water (for reconstituting mushrooms)
*5 cups water
*2 low-salt bouillon cubes
1 inch ginger, minced
2 tbsp tamari
1/2 lb extra-firm tofu, drained & cubed
8 oz buckwheat soba or rice noodles
1/3 lb sugar snap peas or snow peas, cut into thirds
1 cup julienned carrots
1/2 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
1/2 – 1 bunch scallions, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Roasted, unsalted peanuts

Directions
Reconstitute shiitakes by placing them into boiling water removed from heat. Cover and let sit for 12 minutes. Remove the mushrooms (saving the water), rinse & dice. Pour the shiitake water through a strainer lined with cheese cloth into a soup pot. Add the shiitakes, 5 cups of water, broken bouillon cubes, ginger, tamari, and tofu. Bring to a boil & reduce to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the soba or rice noodles & continue to simmer long enough for them to soften, between 5 and 12 minutes. (Soba takes about 1/2 the time of rice noodles; be careful not to overcook it!) Taste for tamari, adding more to taste.

Place raw peas, carrots, cabbages, & scallions in a bowl. Ladle noodle, tofu, mushroom, and broth mixture onto the veggies. Top with cilantro and peanuts. Enjoy!

Store all the raw veggies in one bowl (except cilantro, which can go solo in a smaller bowl) and the broth mixture in another. Will keep a few days in the fridge.

*You may sub 5 cups of broth for the 5 cups of water & 2 bouillon cubes.

The content of this article is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with a qualified health care professional before acting on any information presented herein. Any statements about the possible health benefits of any subject discussed have not been evaluated by medical professionals or the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness.