Veggie-packed soba noodle soup

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced  
• 1 carton (900 mL) no salt added vegetable broth + 1 cup (250 mL) water 
• 1 pkg (227 g) cremini mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups) 
• 1 cup (250 mL) sliced carrots 
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) hoisin sauce 
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) grated fresh ginger 
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) reduced sodium soy sauce  
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) rice vinegar 
• 100 g Asian noodles, such as buckwheat soba or udon   
• 1 sweet red pepper, cut into bite-size pieces 
• 2 cups (500 mL) sugar snap peas, trimmed 
• 2 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil 
• 1 ½ cups (375 mL) cubed firm tofu or tempeh 
• 8 soft boiled eggs, peeled and halved 
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced 

Instructions

1. In a large pot, combine garlic, broth, water, mushrooms, carrots, hoisin sauce, ginger, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.  
2. Increase heat to high and return to a boil. Add noodles, red pepper and sugar snap peas; cook uncovered for 3 minutes or until tender-crisp. Remove pot from heat; stir in sesame oil and tofu.  
3. Divide soup evenly into 4 bowls. Top with soft boiled eggs and green onions.   
4. For soft boiled eggs: Put eggs in a saucepan. Add cold water to cover eggs by 1 inch (2.5 cm). Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately remove from heat. Let stand for 4 minutes. Rinse under cold water. 

Tips:

• Spice it up: To make it spicy, add 1 bird’s eye chili, sliced (small red chili) or ½ tsp red chili flakes. 
• Substitution: Substitute 1-1/2 cups leftover cooked chicken, beef, pork or fish for the tofu if you prefer. 
• Ingredient know-how: Soba noodles are made from buckwheat, which tends to have a lower GI than other carbohydrate-rich noodles. They are usually found in Asian grocery stores or in that section of major grocery chain stores. If you can’t find them, you could substitute whole wheat spaghetti or thin rice noodles instead. 
• Nutrition know-how: Tempeh is pressed fresh soybeans that are then fermented. It is considered a fermented food along with kefir, kimchi and miso and is thought to have a positive effect on our gut health. It also is a little higher in protein than tofu.

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