Are you looking for a nourishing, low-calorie lunch or dinner option? Look no further! I love this miso ginger soup for those days where you fill rushed to meal prep. Sometimes, we may be more inclined to reach for a salty snack instead of whipping something up (trust me those days have seemed more commonplace recently). But this recipe is so quick and tasty that it’s hard for me to resist! I enjoy making a large pot of soup that can be saved for lunch throughout the week (just heat and bring in a thermos) or even frozen and reheated for weeks where meal prep is just not an option.
Read below to learn more about the benefits of miso and ginger — two of my favorite ingredients for improving gastrointestinal symptoms of IBS and/or bloating.
What is miso? It’s a traditional Japanese paste which consists of fermented soybeans and mold cultured from rice and/or barley (called koji or Aspergillus oryzae, if we’re being scientific). You’ll commonly see recipes calling for different variations of miso – white, yellow, red, and even black – so what’s the difference here? It has to do with the degree of fermented soybeans used and the length. White miso is considered the lightest with less soybean content and a higher rice content to give it a lighter, more mild taste. Red miso is the strongest, with the greatest soybean content and often fermented the longest as well. Yellow is in the middle and my preferred option as it goes well in hearty soups and salad dressings.
While miso is a fermented food with gut-friendly bacteria, it’s important to realize that the process of cooking miso paste will kill bacteria. This is why I recommend whisking miso paste in warm water and adding it at the very end of the dish when the rest of the soup ingredients have already been cooked. If you’re being extra careful you can turn the soup off of the burner and add the whisked miso paste and stir well. I highly recommend whisking the miso paste in water before adding to the pot to break up any larger pieces. It’s natural for whisked miso to settle to the bottom of the pot, so stir gently once again before serving!
What about ginger? Ginger is another wonderful spice for gut health! Research has shown that ginger (especially in tea or soup concoctions) is a wonderful remedy for nausea. When I am not adding it to soup or salad dressings, I chop it up and add it with lemon juice, jasmine tea leaves and honey (or erythritol if staying sugar-free) to my french press for 5-7 minutes before pouring in my tumbler to take with me for the day. It’s a wonderful drink to start my morning and the zesty flavor of ginger is a perfect compliment to green tea. By the way if you don’t have green tea leaves, I love this brand Pique which makes green tea crystals that easily dissolve in water of any temperature.
But back to this soup! Even though we are coming into warmer months, California can have some chilly “June Gloom” days and I find myself craving a warming dish during lunch. This soup is easy to transport and can take on different variations depending on the dark greens used. There’s a wonderful Japanese vegetable stand at the farmers’ market in Santa Monica which sells dandelion greens and may be used in place of swiss chard (lacinato kale is another tasty option and you may find dandelion greens at your local grocer too). Another option for the tofu is to crisp it up in the oven before adding to the soup (see notes below) or substituting for Trader Joe’s three-grain tempeh.
The options are really limitless. Want a little more spice? Try adding horseradish or wasabi. Craving some sweetness? Add kabocha squash at the beginning of the recipe.
And if you need more whole grains in your life, I love serving this miso soup over short grain brown rice (so nutty and crunchy compared to long grain). I hope you enjoy this recipe! What other ingredients have you tried adding to your miso soup? Please share below!
Soothing Miso Ginger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 container Extra Firm Tofu, *see notes
- 1 carton vegetable broth
- 1 bunch swiss chard, roughly chopped, or other dark greens (lacinato kale)
- 2 oz dried seaweed, kombu or kelp
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely diced
- 4 tbsp yellow miso
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms, or mushrooms of choice (other than white)
- 1 bunch green onions, diced (1/2 for soup, 1/2 for topping)
- 8 cups water
- 1 tsp salt and pepper, or more, to taste
- 1 tsp Seaweed Gamasio, for topping
Instructions
- Roughly chop swiss chard, seaweed, and mushrooms. Dice green onions and set 1/2 aside.
- In a large pot on medium heat add 1 carton of vegetable broth, 4 cups water, green onions, seaweed, ginger and mushrooms. Cover and let cook.
- After 5-7 minutes, taste and add salt and pepper (be sparing because miso will also add saltiness later on).
- Add swiss chard and tofu cubes (see notes about adding crispy tofu!) and 1 cup more water and stir well. Cook on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, heat up 2 cups of water in the microwave. Remove and add 4 tbsp of miso paste to the bowl and whisk well.
- Turn the soup to simmer, add the whisked miso to the pot and stir well for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add to bowls and top with fresh green onions and seaweed gamasio seasoning. Enjoy!