Ginger Miso Soup with Soba & Turnips

This nourishing ginger miso soup recipe is filled with shiitakes, turnips, tofu, carrots & soba noodles. A delicious healthy lunch.

Ginger Miso Soup Recipe

I’ve had this miso soup in the queue for a little while now. Which isn’t normally the way I work, but I knew this humble healthy soup would get little love in between all of the sparkly & sprinkle-y holiday recipe madness. So I saved it especially for this week, which is otherwise known as the soupiest, salad-iest week on the internet. Inspired by our love of Japanese cooking, this recipe is nourishing, light, and refreshing – perfect for a winter reset.

Miso Soup Ingredients

Here’s what I use to make this healthy miso soup:

  • Kombu. Kombu is dried seaweed used to make the “dashi” or broth for miso soup. Find it in Asian markets or the Asian section of well-stocked grocery stores.
  • White miso paste. Find miso paste in tubs in the refrigerated section of well-stocked grocery stores or Asian markets. Look for white or shiro miso for this recipe. You may see red miso in the store as well, but it has a stronger, saltier flavor that could overwhelm the other light ingredients in this soup.
  • Ginger and green onions. They make this miso soup recipe extra light, nourishing, and fresh!
  • Soy sauce or tamari. Add a few teaspoons at the end for an extra savory, salty kick.
  • Veggies, soba noodles, and/or tofu! I add tofu, turnips and turnip greens, soba noodles, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots to my soup. This combination is delicious, but you could skip the veggies & noodles to make a lighter miso soup, similar to what you’d find at Japanese restaurants. Or add your favorite veggies! Bok choy, spinach, chard, enoki mushrooms, and sweet potatoes would all be good here.

How to Make Miso Soup

The first step in this miso soup recipe is making a homemade dashi stock. This might sound fancy, but it’s really simple. Just simmer your kombu in water for 10 minutes, being careful not to let it boil, or the broth will become bitter. After the kombu softens, remove it and bring the dashi to a boil to get it hot enough to make a miso slurry.

Next, make the miso slurry! Scoop a bit of the hot stock out of the pot and, in a small bowl, whisk in the miso. Whisk until the mixture is smooth – no one wants lumpy miso soup.

Reduce the heat on the stove, and stir the miso slurry into the soup. Add whatever hearty vegetables you like (I put in the turnips, ginger, scallions, shiitakes, and carrots at this stage), and simmer until they’re tender.

Ginger Miso Soup ingredients

When the vegetables are soft, stir in the tofu and cooked soba noodles, if using. Add any greens you like, and simmer just until they wilt.

Remove the pot from the heat, and enjoy!

If you love this miso soup recipe…

Try my many-veggie soup, lentil soup, butternut squash soup, or asparagus soup next!


5.0 from 3 reviews

Ginger Miso Soup

 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This nourishing ginger miso soup recipe is filled with shiitakes, turnips, tofu, carrots & soba noodles. A great healthy lunch.
Author:
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 2 as a main, 4 as a starter
Ingredients
For the dashi:
  • a piece of dried kombu, about 2x3 inches
  • 4 cups water
For the soup:
  • 4 cups dashi
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • ¼ cup chopped scallions
  • ½ cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
  • 4 small turnips, quartered
  • ½ chopped carrots
  • ½ cup firm tofu cubes
  • 4 ounces cooked soba noodles (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped turnip greens (optional)
  • A few teaspoons soy sauce or tamari
Instructions
  1. Make the dashi: Gently rinse the kombu piece. Place it in a medium pot with 4 cups water and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Don’t let it boil, or the kombu flavor will turn bitter. Once the kombu piece is soft, remove it and bring the water to a boil for just a few minutes.
  2. Reduce the heat again and add 1 cup more water. In a small bowl, stir the miso paste together with some of the hot dashi water (until it’s not clumpy), then stir to incorporate it into the soup broth.
  3. Add the ginger, scallions and shiitakes, turnips, and carrots and simmer on low until the turnips are soft and fork-tender (about 35-40 minutes). Note: If your soup is too thick, add 1-2 cups more water until it is a thinner consistency.
  4. Add the tofu and cooked soba noodles. Then taste and adjust seasonings, adding a few teaspoons of soy sauce if you like.
  5. Store leftover soup in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
In this recipe I used King Soba brown rice noodles (which are gluten free). I also like Eden's soba noodles, although I find the 100% buckwheat noodles get a little too clumpy.

 

32 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Tingting
    02.09.2015

    Can you please tell me which fonts you are using? Especially the handwritten one, I love it so much! But I can’t find it anywhere..

  2. This soup is so pretty and I am sure tastes just as good as it looks. My boyfriend is obsessed with anything miso. Can’t wait to make this for him!

  3. dervla from blogcurator.blogspot.com
    01.07.2015

    Happy new year, Jeanine! This miso soup looks like the perfect meal to wash away all the sugar i consumed over the holiday :))

  4. I have been eating miso soup by the gallon lately. It is so simple, and easy to alter to use up whatever I have in my fridge that day. I love adding kale to my miso soup. The saltiness of the miso paste helps town down the bitterness of the kale.

  5. Katie from fromshorestoskylines.com
    01.06.2015

    I’m actually disappointed that I used the last of my garden turnips last night and not for this soup. Looks delicious and healthy, can’t wait to try it! Maybe I’ll grow Tokyo turnips this year! 🙂

  6. Wow, I definitely have to try this. I’m always nervous to experiment with new types of cuisines and have never attempted japanese food…but I think this needs to change in 2015! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

  7. Cherie from cherieedle.blogspot.com
    01.05.2015

    This looks so delicious, a definite attempt will be made from me! I love a good noodle soup! x
    cherieedle.blogspot.com

  8. Cherie from cherieedle.blogspot.com
    01.05.2015

    This looks so delicious, a definite attempt will be made from me! I love a good soup noodles! x
    cherieedle.blogspot.com

  9. Eileen from hampiesandwiches.blogspot.com
    01.05.2015

    Soup! This is exactly what I want to eat lately — filled with winter veg, hot, and comforting. Hooray!

  10. I’m making soups for like every meal these days…this one is so unique that I just HAVE to add it to the mix!

  11. I don’t use turnips much either. This would be a good excuse to do so, especially because I’m always making a version of miso soup!

  12. This looks wonderful Jeanine! I love clean and healthy Japanese food and this is exactly what I want after the period of festive eating!

  13. iamchef from iamchefblog.com
    01.05.2015

    Mmm this looks delicious! – Turnips are such an underrated vegetable! x

  14. I have never tried a Tokyo Turnip! I can’t wait until our lovely WF opens in a few months. Turnip season will be close to over but I’ll look and hope anyway!

    • Laura from raiseyourgarden.com
      01.06.2015

      Never tried Tokyo turnip either! But I love how the longer the soup sits, the better it gets. And how it re-heats up nice. Perfect to take for lunch and tastier than that PB&Jelly sandwich….by leaps and bounds!!!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.