If, like me, you love mushrooms then you're going to love this tasty vegetarian take on this traditional Japanese noodle soup dish. Mushrooms are an excellent alternative to animal protein for your meatless Mondays and are packed-full of B-vitamins to boost heart health. Also rich in selenium, mushrooms are a powerful immune-booster. Enjoy this warming soup any time you're craving delicious comfort food minus the bloat and heavy calories.
Ingredients
400g mixed mushrooms (I used 300g white button and 100g shitake), halved
1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced (reserve a few green tops for garnishing)
4 garlic cloves, crushed or diced
4cm chunk ginger, grated
1 small broccoli, chopped
1 zucchinI, sliced into strips
4 bok choy, halved or quartered
2-3 tbsp miso paste (I buy an organic gluten-free one from Foodland)
1.5L filtered water or organic bone broth
4 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce/tamari
300g buckwheat soba noodles or flat rice noodles*
To serve: toasted sesame seeds, green tops of spring onions, extra drizzle of tamari/GF soy, chili flakes (optional)
Method
Heat a splash of olive or sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onions, mushrooms, ginger, garlic and pinch of salt and pepper to the pan and sauté over medium heat. Cook for about 15 mins or until the mushrooms and onions are nice and soft.
Next, add the soy sauce/tamari, miso paste and water or bone broth, and simmer on a low heat while you prepare the noodles and toppings.
Cook noodles according to packet instructions, then remove to serving bowls with tongs. Blanch the halved bok choy for a minute or so in the noodle water, reserve 1 cup of the water and add to mushroom broth, and then drain.
Add bok choy halves to each bowl then ladle over the rich, mushroomy broth. Garnish with spring onion tops, sprinkle of sesame seeds, drizzle tamari/soy and chilli sauce, if you like.
Enjoy,
* Sub for zucchini noodles if going grain-free. Tip: Instead of bok choy, use what you have – thinly sliced capsicum, cabbage, snow peas, choy sum etc.