Miso Soup with Soba Noodles and Tempeh

Yes, I am aware that this headline might inspire you to ask, "Um, are you cooking soup, or are you trying to see how many ingredients most Americans can't identify will fit into a stockpot?"  Valid question.  After cooking this soup, I did notice that most of the ingredients aren't common in American cooking.  Good.  At least it's not boring. 

Everything I've eaten and cooked this week has been either vegetarian or vegan.  This started out as a choice, but it kind of turned into a default when I realized I had a lot of leftovers, and then it became an experiment - how long can I cook vegetarian and vegan food?  I do love vegetarian food, and I will cook vegetarian and vegan recipes in the future - but I am really starting to miss seafood.  Although I seem to have stumbled across a magnificent loophole - although subject to much debate, some claim that vegans can eat oysters because oysters have no central nervous system and cannot feel pain.  I mean, they are kind of blob-like...but I digress.  Back to the soup....



Tung Ho

 There are several ingredients in this soup that are not common - szechuan peppercorns, which taste almost like a pungent, mentholated coriander seed or a peppercorn that's lost it's spicy kick; tempeh, a cake of fermented soybeans and grains with a nutty flavor and slightly chewy texture; tung ho, an asian vegetable whose name sounds like something mean girls would call each other, is available in better supermarkets, and its flavor resembles grassy spinach; and miso, which is fermented soybean paste with a delicate, mellow flavor.  If you've never tried any of these things, please give this soup a try - it will be a delicious surprise!


Miso Soup with Soba Noodles and Tempeh

Tempeh

6 cups vegetable broth
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 t. szechuan peppercorns
1 t. chipotle pepper flakes
4 oz. tempeh, diced
3 T. white miso (sometimes called "mellow miso")
4 oz. soba noodles
2 T. soy sauce
2 cups tung ho leaves
green onion, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds (for garnish)

Combine the vegetable broth, ginger, szechuan peppercorns, chipotle flakes, and tempeh in a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil.  Now, add the miso, and stir until miso has dissolved in the boiling broth. 

Add the soba noodles and cook until the noodles are soft.  Now, add the soy sauce and tung ho leaves.  Stir once or twice until the leaves are limp.  Remove from heat, ladle into bowls, and serve, garnishing with green onion, a few drops of sesame oil, and a pinch of toasted sesame seeds.