Soba Noodle Soup with Mushrooms & Snow Peas

I love soup! There are many simple soup recipes on this blog. But, I especially adore Asian noodle soups like my Thai Noodle Soup or my Rice Noodle Soup with Bok Choy. The Recipe Index lists all of them. Do you dream about big brothy bowls of noodle soup too? When I go to downtown Boston, I head straight for Chinatown to get my fix. Since I live a good few miles from there, I've learned to create them at home.

This soup is a no-brainer. Tangles of soba noodles swim in a light vegetable broth. It's spiked with ginger and fortified with earthy mushrooms and fresh snow peas. The snow peas remain tender-crisp and bright green. For protein, I add some diced chicken to it. But it's great on its own or with tofu too. The best part is that you control the sodium level. A quick and healthy dinner can be on the table in under 30 minutes if you make it. Get your slurp on!

Soba Noodle Soup Recipe  

Serves 4-6

Some Notes & Tips

The broth is vegan. You may swap the chicken with tofu if that's what you prefer. You can also replace the shiitakes with regular white button mushrooms. The soup is very satisfying, but it's only 300 calories per serving. 

Rapunzel No Salt Vegan Vegetable Bouillon is my go-to veggie bouillon when I don't have the time or energy to make my own stock. It's the best! I love it for its clean taste and homemade flavor. I learned about it from Heidi Swanson of 101 Cookbooks. I find it at Whole Foods or buy it by the case online at Amazon. It's a lifesaver for quick soups like this one. But you can swap it and the water for 8 cups of your favorite broth or stock.

Keep the cooked noodles separate from the broth. Add them to the soup when you serve it so they don't get mushy and soak up all the broth. The broth can be made ahead of time too.

Ingredients

• 9.5 ounces of  soba noodles
• 6 ounces of thinly sliced or diced white meat chicken.  You can swap the chicken with tofu or shrimp too.    
• 2 cups of snow peas  
• 2 cups of shiitake mushrooms (about 15-20) or regular white mushrooms, sliced thinly 
• 5 scallions, diced, reserve the dark green parts
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 small garlic clove minced. I use a zester for this.  
• 6 vegetable bouillon cubes. I use Rapunzel No Salt Vegan Vegetable Bouillon. 
• A couple of good splashes of soy sauce. I use Shoyu.
• A few tiny drops of toasted sesame oil or regular Asian sesame seed oil. I use Trader Joe's Brand.
• 8 cups of water 
• Salt to taste 
• To Serve: squeeze of lemon or lime, drizzle of sriracha, a few diced chili peppers, bean sprouts 

Instructions

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Soba noodles take a very short time to cook. My package instructed me to rinse them in cold water after cooking. Drain well. Stir 3-4 drops of sesame oil into the cooked and drained noodles to help separate the noodles and keep them from clumping together. You can also spray them with some non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle the reserved green parts of the scallions over the noodles and set aside.

In a large soup pot heat 8 cups of water and the vegetable bouillon cubes with some soy sauce, the rest of the scallions, garlic and ginger. (I grate the garlic and the ginger directly into the soup with a microplane zester). Salt to taste. Simmer covered for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the thinly sliced chicken and the mushrooms. Cover and keep the soup at a gentle boil until the chicken is done. Toss in the snow peas and take the soup off the heat. The snow peas are added when it's done cooking, so they stay bright green and tender-crisp. Stir in a few drops of sesame oil to the soup. Put the soba noodles in big soup bowls and ladle the hot soup over them. Serve with any of the above suggestions.

Bon Appetit!

xx ~ Jilly