5-Ingredient Instant Noodle Miso Soup
As delicious as it is easy to prepare, this Noodle Miso Soup comes together in under 10 minutes and requires only 5 ingredients to make!
You know, sometimes — especially at lunch time — I find myself cooking only for me and as such, I like to keep things real fast and simple. If you factor in the fact that I’m a big Asian food aficionado, I guess it comes as no surprise that Miso Soup is something that I really tend to go for.
Seriously, this is one of my ultimate “easy-speedy” options. I don’t think that there’s another meal out there that you can make quite as quickly as this Miso Soup, save for instant Ramen, but these hardly qualify as a meal, if you know what I mean…
This soup, on the other hand, is packed with highly nutritional ingredients: miso paste, for starters, which is excellent for you, tofu, mushrooms, green onions, rice noodles… it’s all good stuff, really! It’s pretty much like Ramen, made healthy, as far as speed and convenience are concerned.
When it comes to taste, though, you get ten thousand times better with this gorgeous bowl of [almost] instant goodness.
Agreed, it does require a little bit more prep time and “cooking” than just plain opening up a bag of dry fried noodles, dumping them into some boiling water and adding a little packet of salty greasy powder. But not that much, trust me. And the result is really worth putting in the little bit of extra effort.
Plus, even if you didn’t have the exact 5 ingredients that the recipe calls for, you could always improvise. This is one very forgiving soup. All that you really require is the miso paste. And even this is “personalizable”: I like to use white (aka shiro) miso, but any kind will do, really. So feel free to use your own favorite variety!
For the rest, you can use basically whatever you want. Shredded carrots, mushrooms, frozen peas, edamame, tofu, shaved bokchoy, broccoli… You get the idea. Use whatever you have on hand!
Trust me, this IS one perfect quick meal for those days when you just don’t have time to cook, or plain don’t feel like it…
Enough talking, let’s get [not so] busy cooking… Start by bringing 3 cups of salted water to a boil, and then add the rice vermicelli and cook it until tender, about 1 minute.
While the water is coming to the boil and the noodles are cooking, dilute the miso paste in a quarter of a cup of hot water and prep the rest of your ingredients.
As soon as the noodles are cooked to your liking — be careful not to overcook them: these things cook FAST — remove the pan from the heat source, add the wakame flakes and mushrooms and stir delicately.
Be sure to slice your mushrooms real thin so the heat from the soup alone will be enough to cook them.
Now stir in the diluted miso…
…and finally, add the cubed tofu.
Transfer your soup to a large serving bowl and garnish it with a little bit of chopped green onion, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a few drops of sesame oil, if desired.
Only one thing left to do… DIG RIGHT IN!
Instant Noodle Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.75 oz rice vermicelli noodles
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1 mushroom, sliced thinly
- 1 tsp wakame flakes
- 1.75 oz soft tofu, cut into ½” cubes
To garnish
- Chopped green onion
- Black and white sesame seeds
- Toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Bring the 3 cups of water and salt to a boil.
- Meanwhile, dilute the miso in the quarter cup of hot water and prep the rest of your ingredients.
- Add the rice vermicelli to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and add wakame flakes and mushrooms; stir delicately.
- Stir in diluted miso and finally, add the cubed tofu.
- Transfer to a large serving bowl and garnish with a little bit of chopped green onion, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a few drops of sesame oil.
- Serve without delay.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
You can also FOLLOW ME on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER for more delicious, healthy recipes!
*Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January of 2012 and has since been completely revamped and updated with better pictures. A few minor modifications to the original recipe may also have been made.
37 Comments on “5-Ingredient Instant Noodle Miso Soup”
This looks so good! And I love that its quick. Simple yet nutritious meals and snacks are always my favorite because no matter how busy my schedule, I can easily fit them in.
I think the only valid excuse not to make this soup would be “I’m allergic to miso” or “I don’t care for it” because “I’m too busy and don’t have time to make this” would definitely not work 😉 This is almost as fast as pouring a bowl of cereal. Almost! Glad you like, Kati, and hope you end up trying it! 🙂
That looks like the kind of meal I would love to have when too busy to cook. I hate microwave meals, I sometimes have one just because I really really cannot be bothered, but I always feel dissatisfied afterwards and think there must be a better way to spend time then putting some mediocre stuff into a microwave. Now this soup looks delicious and screams fresh! I’d have one now please!
Can we trade? A slice of your Persimmon Bundt cake for a bowl of my Miso soup? 😉 Seriously, I’d gladly send you a bowl if I could, Simone. Save you from having one of those microwaved thingies… 😉
Oooh, I’m super excited by this. I’ve wanted to try miso for so long now but I’m always intimidated. There seems like a million options for miso and I have no idea what anything means. What kind do you use? I remember hating miso soup as a kid, but it was basically broth, and had nothing good in it. This looks fantastic though, I would love to try it.
I like to use the dark, or red, variety, because it has a more intense flavor and I happen to LOVE miso. In fact, I am extremely suprised that I don’t use it more than I do, instead of salt. I just keep forgetting, I guess. I totally agree, most miso soups have absolutely nothing in them, they are basically broth with a few cubes of tofu, a mushroom or two and maybe a piece of wakame, if you’re lucky… Plus most are made with the light, or white variety. As you can see, I like my miso soup LOADED! You should definitely give it another try, Heidi. Just don’t be afraid to add tons of good stuff to your broth! 🙂
Oh, and I forgot. The key is to never cook your miso. Just dilute it in water (pretty much equal parts mioso to water) and add it when the soup is done cooking. Super easy! 😉
This soup is GORGEOUS! I love the mushrooms in it – so pretty! Anything with tofu gets a thumbs up from me too! 🙂 Yummmmmmmm! Now I just need to buy some miso!
Thank you so much, Nora! I so agree on the tofu thing. And now you got me hooked even more with your baked tofu recipe. Maaaaan are these things good. But definitely, the soft tofu in a miso soup is my favorite part. I love how it just melts in your mouth. I usually tend to keep it for the end. 😉
Sonia sometimes I think you are a super hero. that miso soup looks to. die. for.
A super hero!!!! LOL! Jaclyn, you’re just amazing. I mean, wow! What a super nice thing to say! Now I’m all flushed. Thank you so much for that. You so made my day! 😀
This has to be the ultimate miso soup. Look at all that wonderful stuff in there! It seriously puts other miso soup to shame.
Oh, thank you so much Cara. That is so very nice of you to say! I guess a lot of people would argue that this is not miso soup, for there are way too many things in it, but that’s the way I like MY miso soup. Loaded! 😉 Glad you agree with me! 🙂
This is beautiful! I love miso soup! 🙂
Yum! I’m always looking for new ways to make miso. It’s my favorite!
Now that is some really nice looking miso soup!
Aw, thanks so much Kevin! As always, an honor to have you comment on my blog! Thanks a bunch for dropping by. I always truly appreciate! 😀
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! I am a student and try really hard to eat healthy and balanced. I have always loved miso soup, but was afraid to try it. This recipe gave me the courage and I LOVE IT!! I will definitely keep these ingredients on hand. Just a side note: I also love pho and am used to adding condiments so I added garlic chili paste, red pepper flakes, and hoisin sauce to this miso as well. Mmmm, mmmm, good 🙂
So happy to hear, Melissa! And Miso soup is just soooo easy to make. Bet you’ll be having it all the time now! I loooove your additions, too, although I would personally pass on the hoisin sauce… 😉
I can’t wait to try this miso soup! What a great flavor combo – and textures!
Hi there! This looks delicious! I’ve only ever had Miso Soup in restaurants, so this will be a new adventure for me! What kind of Miso do you use, and where do you find it? I searched my grocery store today, but I had no idea what I was looking for!!
Thanks for the help and the yummy recipes!
Hey Staci, glad you like this soup! I have to admit that miso CAN be somewehat hard to find. If your grocery store has an refrigerated “Asian section” then you MIGHT be able to find miso there, but since it has to be kept in the refrigerator, I find that most grocery stores simply don’t stock it. You would have to go to an Asian food store, and there you would find all kinds of different varieties, such as white, red, which are the most popular (also known as light or dark, and I like to use the dark, by the way) but there are also different grain varieties, some including rice, barley or wheat, some with algea or other added ingredients, and of course, there also is a soy only variety, in case you’re looking for gluten or grain free. Good luck getting your hands on it and I truly hope you do find it! 😀
Just wanted to ask a question: my fiance can’t eat mushrooms, do you think this recipe will work without them?
Thank you!
Absolutely!
I bought sheets of dried wakame. How do I use it in recipe? What does flaked mean?
I don’t think I’ve ever seen wakame in sheets before, it usually comes in strips or flakes… basically all you need to do is crumble it to small pieces.
Any chance you can help with conversions? I tried googling but it seems the gram conversion chart depends on what you’re converting and the weight.
Try converting grams to ounces, Erin. That should do the trick!
I have a question
2 tbsp miso diluted.
By any chance, could you please suggest which miso paste do you use?
Thank you in advance
I don’t really have one to recommend in particular, Lorena. Any good organic miso paste will do the trick!
Simple and quick. Looks delicious.
Two advisals however.
1. Read the label on the Miso. Tou are looking for “Live Culture” and NOT pasteurized. The pasteurization kills all those expensive vitamin shop probiotic gut/colon bacteria that assist in proper digestion.
2. DO NOT mix with boiling water to dissolve. Mix with just warm water (as I recall, temps over 118F. kill everything) and add right before serving letting it cool down first. It will be slower to dissolve in cooler water.
If that’s too much trouble, I think the probiotics my wife used to buy at the Vitamin Shope cost $80.00 a bottle.
A bit more of a treat, buy some small or medium shrimp. Add a few frozen ones and they will cook in minutes. Thaw them, and less time is involved. Buy a squid and chop it up. Add a few pieces to the soup – small pieces cook in 30 seconds. Or any other seafood – clams, mussels, fish or????
Thanks for your easy dish. If you have a patio garden and just picked your plant pots and got 1 Okra, 2 Cherry Tomatoes, and 2 Green Beans, and 1 Swiss Chard leaf, you can really utilize small quantities of vegetables in such soups. A few of this and that makes the soup pretty and adds culinary interest.
This is one of my favorite recipes – quick, easy, and delicious. I also like to put some green vegetables, such as baby spinach, water crest in the soup to add more nutrients.
LOVE the idea of adding greens to this soup! In fact, it reminds me of a Vietnamese soup I used to eat and loved SO MUCH. It was the simplest thing, made with a clear chicken broth, rice noodles, sliced mushrooms, onions and watercress. I should totally work on a vegan version of this! Thanks for the inspiration!
Do you have any miso recommendations? The one I currently have is 36% sodium in one tablespoon. That’s a lot! I used only half that amount but end up with very little miso flavor.