This Japanese inspired miso soup with soba noodles and clams is my lasted culinary successful experiment. Soba noodles infused in a delicate broth with veggies and clams. A true explosion of umami flavor.
I’m beyond proud of how amazing this soup turns out. I discovered soba noodles recently and they are great. You can use them as a gluten-free substitute in case you have any level of gluten intolerance.They have a soft flavor and they work better with delicate soups instead of heavy sauces like regular noodles do.
But why I’m now talking about Japanese food in this blog of mostly south American food?
Well, let’s have a small talk.
I didn’t decided to call this blog The cookware geek just for a chance or because it sounded kind of cool — even when it is kind of cool. The truth is that I’m what you can call a closet geek. And one of my favorites geeky hobbies is Japanese Anime — Surprised?.
Now as a part-time grown up — because I refuse to be a full-time grown up that gets excited with the IKEA sales — that have a new passion for cooking, Japanese food is my next big obsession.
So what is my qualification for writing about Japanese food :
- I’ve seen thousands of beautiful anime food on the screen.
- I have the tendency to orbit around Asian restaurants.
- It’s my favorite type of food.
Yeah, I know, It’s like saying that I can be a surgeon because I saw a Grey’s Anatomy marathon last week.
But the reality is that cooking is more an intuitive process for me. I try every type of food that I can. And I have an insatiable desire to replicate dishes that I love from my teeny tiny kitchen. And at the end of the day, this desire to learn new things is what made me open this little corner of the internet to share my kitchen experiments.
So after this brief introduction of my “expertise” in Japanese food, we can proceed with the recipe 🙂
There are a few things that you must be aware of doing this recipe:
Soba noodles cook really fast. Use boiling water and cook for no more than 4 minutes. Immediately throw the soba noodles in a strainer under the cold water to stop the cooking process.
Miso paste comes in a variety of colors. From cream to almost red. The darker the color, the stronger the flavor.
The miso paste is the last ingredient that you add to the soup. For that reason, adjust salt and pepper after adding the miso paste (which is quite salty).
The soup must be out of the stove and not boiling when you add the miso paste. This way you preserve the properties of the miso paste.
I hope if you are a geek like me you enjoy this recipe, and I see you in the next one!
- 100 gr clams without shell
- 5 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 small carrot
- 2 tbsp scallions thinly chopped
- 1 tbsp minced garlic 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 8-12 drops of sriracha sauce
- 5 cups of water
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- salt and pepper
- ½ tbsp dehydrated seaweed
- 1 tbsp scallions thinly chopped
- sesame seeds
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In a stockpot over medium heat, pour the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the scallions, the garlic, and the ginger.
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When the garlic is very fragrant, add the mushrooms cut into slices, the carrot cut into thin slices and the clams. Cook for a couple minutes.
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Pour the soy sauce, the sesame oil, the sriracha drops and the water. Let it simmer for 20 minutes until the carrot is soft and the broth has a brownish color. Take the soup out of the stove. Now that the broth is not boiling anymore add the miso paste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Heat a small pot with water and take it to boil. Pour the soba noodles into the boiling water for 3 minutes. Rinse with cold water.
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Serve the noodles and cover with the miso soup. Garnish with seaweed, scallion and sesame seeds.
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.