Salmon Miso Soup + Soba

Make your own delicious miso soup with soba, and beat all the Japanese restaurants in town.

I’m not really a soup person, but I’m definitely a Japanese food and salmon lover. Like most girls, I care about my body shape, but not too much that I’d go on an extreme diet. I’d rather weigh my food for cooking than weigh myself for good-looking. To me, eating healthy is more important than eating less but unhealthy. If you are like me, it might as well be hard for you to neglect the fact that miso soup is low in calories and good for your health.

There are TWO MAIN BENEFITS of Miso that I just couldn’t resist:
(rephrased and picked out from the bombastic long list retrieved from Care2 Healthy Living)

1. High in protein, which helps you burn fat and build up muscle.
2. Helps digestion, which helps you poop.

I remember during my fifth-grade winter break, Dad opened a Japanese restaurant near our house in Taipei because he loves Japanese food. On weekends, I’d stay on the sushi bar the whole afternoon, and ask for pieces and pieces of nori (Dad always says it closed because I finished all the nori). And when I finally got thirsty eating the dry seaweed, the sushi chef would give me a big bowl of miso soup. It was so delicious, and so warm.

Even after the restaurant closed, Dad and I would shuttle between streets in Taipei. We would immerse ourselves in an aroma of the best foods in town in search of decent Japanese restaurants (after travelling around so many countries, I can’t praise more that Taipei really is a Japanese food heaven). And every time at the end of the meal, I would order a bowl of miso soup, even when sushi and sashimi have built up high to my lungs. Miso soup is the indicator of how well a Japanese restaurant is. It is like judging fried rice in a Chinese restaurant, a loaf of whole wheat bread in a bakery, and pancakes (or avocado toast for the trend) in a brunch place.

In my first year of university, I had a terrible time dealing with homesickness. And the only cure was FOOD. I looked for Japanese restaurants all over downtown Toronto, but not many could satisfy my nostalgia of those in Taipei. In most Japanese restaurants, the miso soup is either too salty, or too dull. I missed those that have tofu cubes almost make it a soon tofu, with seaweed that adds to it a little greenness, and sometimes even fish for an extra ocean sweetness.

After getting a little tired of searching, and more tired of the piled up schoolwork, I decided to make my own miso soup, and adjust it to satisfy what I had been longing for.

To make it more college-student-friendly, I put a notebook and a ruler on the side. Jk, I added some seasonal veggies, salmon, and soba noodles to make it a meal! This miso soup is all the warmth and nutrients you need for a cold winter.

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Salmon Miso Soup + Soba     [click here for a printer-friendly version]
(serves 4-6)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups water
• 5 sheets kombu
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 1 cup mushroom, sliced
• 3 tablespoon (gluten-free) white miso
• 1 container firm tofu, sliced in cubes
• 1 fillet salmon, cut into large bite size
• 4 oz soba noodles
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put kombu and water into a medium pot over medium-low heat. Slowly bring to a bare simmer for 20-30 minutes, then skim out the kombu and let it rest aside.

*do not let it boil or the kombu will become slimy and bitter! *

2. Add garlic, ginger, miso, tofu, and salmon to the pot. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 3 minutes.
3. While the broth simmer, cook your seasonal veggies and soba noodles.
4. Divide noodles into two bowls, add your miso soup with tofu and salmon, and garnish it with green onions, kombu, and veggies. Slurp it loudly and enjoy!

 

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Comment below and let me know how this recipe works for you!

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Assignment 6c