Bento Box Soup Recipe
- 4 ounces soba noodles
- 4 cups organic vegetable or chicken broth, homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil or hot pepper sesame oil
- 1 (6-inch) strip of kombu
- 3 green tea bags
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated
- 1/2 cup stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 4 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1/4 cup white miso
- 2 scallions, white and green parts, sliced diagonally
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- Fill a soup pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt and the soba noodles and decrease the heat to medium. Cook, stirring gently on occasion, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse well under cold water to remove the starch. Immediately transfer to a bowl, drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon of the sesame oil and toss gently to coat.
- Put the broth in the same pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low, add the kombu and tea bags, and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the kombu and tea bags with a slotted spoon. Add the carrot, mushrooms, tofu, tamari, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Put 1/4 cup of the hot broth in a small bowl, add the miso, and stir with a fork until the miso is dissolved. Stir the mixture back into the broth, then stir in the scallions, lemon juice, and remaining sesame oil.
- Distribute the soba noodles and spinach among six bowls and ladle in the soup.
