Copycat recipe time!

Thug Kitchen has provided me with hours of entertainment and some great meals, and they didn’t let me down on this one. Full disclosure, my boyfriend did most of the cooking on this one, and for once I was the one helping with prep.

Sometimes it’s best to get back to basics. I moved a few months ago, and I’ve found that getting used to my new kitchen has been tougher than expected. There’s always something missing, or there’s (literally) a fire starting somewhere. I tried baking cookies the other night and they were a few points below par, even to my roommates standards. And they’ll eat anything.

I really enjoyed this soup—I’m a big fan of broth-y clear soups, plus with flu season in full gear, a couple of vegetables don’t hurt. It’s really easy to eat bland, not-great-for-you food for lunches/dinners in the winter when you’re working full time and the day gets away from you. I would say you can do the make-ahead for this a day in advance, but with prep it honestly takes 45 minutes start to finish, which is pretty good.

Ingredients

Makes 2 large portions or 4 smaller portions

Broth:

• 4 inches fresh ginger, loosely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, halved
• 1 carrot, cut into loose chunks
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 10 sprigs fresh cilantro

Noodles and Veggies

• 1 (8oz) wet-sealed package of udon noodles
• Splash of soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cups broccoli, but into bite-sized pieces
• 1 1/2 tsp. miso paste
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 1 cup snow peas, cut into matchsticks
• 1/3 cup green onion, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup bean sprouts

Method

To make the broth, place ginger and carrot in a medium pot over medium heat (don’t add oil). Once those have cooked for 2-3 minutes, add the garlic. Allow to cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute, then add the broth and cilantro. Simmer for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the noodles according to package directions. Mine said to cook them in lightly salted boiling water for 30 seconds.

When 15 minutes has massed, pull out all the ginger, garlic, carrot, and cilantro with a slotted spoon.  Add the soy sauce and broccoli, and simmer for another 1-2 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Scoop out 1/2 cup of broth and dissolve the miso paste in it, stirring until the chunks are gone.  Pour that back in to the pot. The heat should stay off from this point onwards. Overheating the miso paste will kill all of its probiotic elements.

To assemble to soup, take a handful of noodles and place them at the bottom of a bowl.  Add a handful of the carrots, snow peas, and green onion.  Ladle the hot broth and broccoli over top and allow to rest for a minute so the flavours have a chance to blend.  Top with more green onion, bean sprouts and cilantro if desired, and add in any condiments you may be craving (sesame oil or Sriracha, anyone?).

That’s it! Super easy and delicious, healthy soup with cheap ingredients ready to go. For an even easier time, cut everything up in advance (only a day or so beforehand, to keep it fresh) and have the broth ready for when you get home.