'5 minute' miso stew

Today I am off on a little holiday... to a cottage in the Derbyshire Dales with friends, and it's due to be very chilly and potentially snowy so I've packed all my thermals and waterproofs just in case!  Food was of course on my mind over the last few days- prepping lots of snacks and quick meals to take along with me.....so quick soups and granola bars it is then! Such that this post seemed quite appropriately timed.

A few days ago I needed a really quick fix lunch. I had no soup to hand (other than in the freezer) and I didn’t fancy a cold platter of salad or hummus and veg sticks. Hmmm?

What hot dish could I conjure up in a mere five minutes, that was full of veggies and wouldn’t weigh me down?

Then I remembered that I’d bought some instant miso soup sachets to try. I know what you’re thinking...instant miso soup? That’s not particularly healthy- you should make it yourself!  To a large extent I would agree with you, however I had not tried miso soup before (I know that might sound crazy) and so I wanted to get a feel for the flavours before attempting it on my own, plus this pack was organic and the ingredients list was not particularly bad, it was very similar to a vegetable stock really. I felt this would be a great base for some more substantial additions.

To that was the ‘soup base’ sorted, now to make a 5 minutes lunch!  So I grated up some veg to enable a quick cook and then added some brown rice noodles and some soy beans.  It was ready in 5 minutes flat....or there abouts...but who’s counting?

You can find more of my soup and stew recipes here.

P.S It's Chinese New Year this Friday and although this may be a Japanese inspired dish, it's still noodley and therefore I think it fits the bill. You could infuse Chinese spices will a sweet and sour style broth if you really wanted to play the part. :-)

P.P.S If I'm not able to respond to comments etc over the next few days it will be because I have no internet access. I will be back on Sunday... in the mean time I have a couple more posts lined up for you! :)

Recipe: '5 minute' miso stew

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 sachet miso soup mix

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 small onion or shallot thinly sliced

1 small carrot grated

½ cup cabbage thinly sliced (use Chinese cabbage if possible, or a white cabbage)

Handful of frozen soy beans

¼- ½ cup brown rice vermicelli (very thin) noodles

Sesame seeds to garnish

Method:

Add the onion, carrot and cabbage to a frying pan with the oil (you could use any veg that could be chopped finely). Fry for 5 minutes, using extra water to steam fry as necessary.

Meanwhile boil the kettle and add the miso soup mix to the cup of boiling water- stir to combine and set aside. Add the rice noodles to another cup of boiling water and add the frozen soy beans to another cup of boiling water. Let stand for a few minutes whilst the vegetables cook.

Drain the soy beans and noodles. And add to a serving bowl. Pour the miso soup into the bowl and then add the vegetables. Finish with a sprinkle of sesame if desired.

 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.