Miso Soba Soup

You know, I have problem with keeping track of my recipe measurements. 

So this recipe might be a little wobbly with the measurements here and there, but I've tried my best to put it into numbers. 

It's quiet chilly in Melbourne right now and I had this urge of making a warm bowl of soup. 

I've made chicken noodle soup several times and it consists of the usual ingredients like the trinity of carrot, celery and onion with chopped chicken and egg noodles. 

I wanted to make something a little bit different. 

Something new, but still pretty darn easy to pull off. 

How about miso soup, then?

Miso Soba Noodles
(The uneven cut of the green onions is driving me insane!)

Miso Soba Soup

serves : 3-4 people

ingredients

• 1 skinless boneless chicken breast
• 1/4 block of firm tofu, cut into small cubes
• 4 pieces of frozen lotus roots, cut into quarters + 4 additional (whole) frozen lotus roots, all defrosted
• 2 tbsp white miso paste
• 2 portions of Hakubaku Organic Soba noodles
• 3 stalks of green onions, roughly cut
• 5-6 cups of water / chicken broth (or a mix of both, whatever comes in handy. You can also use 2 chicken stock cubes diluted in the water)
• Sesame oil
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• salt and pepper
• chilli flakes
• Olive oil
• garlic powder (optional)

1. Boil the chicken breast in a saucepan until cooked. Cool it down for a while, then shred / chop the chicken into strips. Set aside. The water used to boil the chicken can be used as part of the soup, just make sure to skim the unwanted particles on top of the liquid. 

2. Heat up the water / stock on a medium heat in a medium sized saucepan. Wait until the water boils and then let it simmer on medium-low heat. Take a bit of simmering wear and then dilute the miso paste, then pour it back into the saucepan. Mix well.

3. Put in the chicken strips, lotus root quarters, and the tofu. Add a few drops of sesame oil, and season according to taste. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes. 

4. Meanwhile, let's prepare the fried lotus roots. With a paper towel, pat dry the whole lotus roots and sprinkle it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat them with plain flour and fry them with a little bit of olive oil on a pan until golden brown. Set it aside. 

5. Back to the soup, add the soba noodles and cook it for 4 minutes (according to the package instruction). When the noodle's cooked, turn off the heat. 

6. Serve the miso soba noodle with a sprinkle of chilli flakes, chopped green onions and the fried lotus roots. Serve warm!

This was a very satisfying soup by itself. 

I made the effort of making the lotus roots n two ways, cooked in the soup and fried,because I had the time. You can just skip the frying part and just bung them all in the soup, but the extra effort was worth it, it gives another texture to the dish. 

I made this for 2 people, but it does give extra portions for the next day so it's just a matter of reheating the leftover soup on the pan or in the microwave (hoorraayyy for leftovers!)

What's your favourite dish to warm up those cold nights?