Udon noodle soup with miso tahini broth (Vegan)
This hearty udon noodle soup is filled with baked tofu and baby spinach. The tahini broth adds a soothing, full-bodied flavor. Finish it with a drizzle of sesame oil to really amp up the sesame quality of the tahini. It's a satisfying vegan lunch that's ready in just 15 minutes!
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 393kcal
Ingredients
- 250 gram pouch frozen udon noodles Or 1 cup cooked noodles of your choice.
- ½ teaspoon avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil
- ½ onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base or your preferred vegetable bouillon
- 2 teaspoons white miso paste
- 1 Tablespoon tamari
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
- 2 Tablespoons tahini
- 3.5 ounces baked tofu or super firm tofu, cut into cubes**
- Big handful baby spinach divided
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon sesame oil divided, optional garnish
Instructions
- Start by cooking frozen udon noodles according to package directions, then draining the noodles. If you aren't using frozen udon noodles, cook your preferred type of noodle. You will need 1 cooked cup of pasta in total.
- While the noodles are cooking, bring a soup pot to a medium heat with avocado oil. Saute onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant. This will take a few minutes.
- Add water, Better Than Bouillon no chicken base, miso paste, tamari, sriracha, and tahini to the pot. Stir until everything is evenly combined. You want the miso paste and tahini to dissolve into the broth.
- Add cubed tofu and a big handful of baby spinach to the tahini broth. Allow the spinach to wilt in the soup. (Or if you'd prefer, you can add the spinach later to the individual serving bowls as a topping.)
- Put one half of the drained noodles in a soup bowl and one half in the other bowl. Top the noodles with miso tahini broth, spinach, and tofu.
- Finish the bowls of soup with a drizzle of sesame oil. It's optional, but it really brings out the "sesame-ness" of the tahini. Not too much sesame oil is needed. About ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of sesame oil per bowl is plenty.
Notes
*I like to use teriyaki flavor baked tofu. One slab from a package of Trader Joe's or Wildwood baked tofu works for two bowls of soup. Or you can use 3.5 ounces of plain, super firm tofu.
In a rush for time? If you're using frozen udon noodles, you can actually put them directly into the broth to re-heat them, instead of boiling them on their own. After the miso paste and tahini have dissolved in the broth, you can add the noodles and bring them up to temperature. Finish with the tofu, spinach, and a drizzle of sesame oil. I don't recommend cooking dried noodles in the broth, however.
Nutrition
Calories: 393kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1668mg | Potassium: 169mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 705IU | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 1.8mg
