Mushroom soba miso soup

Miso is fermented soybean paste made from mashed soybeans that have been mixed with salt and a mold culture and aged for 6-36 months.  Yum?

Miso is used to give a rich depth of flavor to many foods, and it is a common base for soups and salad dressings.  Fermented foods like miso are probiotics that boost the number of “good” bacteria in the gut. Bacteria might sound like a bad thing to have inside your body, but having high amounts of healthy bacteria in your colon is beneficial and aids in digestive health.

Mushroom soba miso soup
Serves 2
You may have been served miso soup as an appetizer at asian restaurants. It often contains a seaweed broth, mushrooms, and tofu. This one is beefed up a bit with extra vegetables and soba buckwheat noodles.

1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 scallions, sliced thin, green and white parts separated
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
1 large carrot, cut into 2″ matchsticks (~3/4 cup)
1/4 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
1 1/2 ounces soba noodles
3 tablespoons miso paste (can use red, white, yellow, or a mix for added depth)
1/4 teaspoon sriracha

1. In a medium saucepan, heat sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, ginger, and white parts of scallions and saute for about 45 seconds.
2. Add chicken broth to the saucepan and heat to a simmer. Add mushrooms, carrots, onion, and soba noodles and simmer for 10 minutes. At this point, the vegetables and noodles should be softened.
3. Reduce heat to low and ladle 1/2 cup of the broth into a bowl. Whisk in the miso paste, then return the mixture to the saucepan.
4. Mix the sriracha into the soup and garnish with the reserved green scallion parts.