Bento Box Soup

BENTO BOX SOUP

I love Asian food. I always feel healthier for eating it. I found this soup on my Epicurious App after searching "Miso, Chicken, Mushroom" and while I had to swap out quite a few ingredients to make it work with my pantry conceptually I stayed true to it and it was a PERFECT dinner [and cannot wait to eat for lunch too!]. 


And I wasn't alone.... everyone loved it [even the old guy] and along with it's healthfulness was fabulous flavor and great textures.... soup with crunch, does it get any better? 

Did I mention less than 200 calories per serving? um yeah... bye bye Lean Cuisine!


What you need:
[this recipe serves 6 easily, I doubled it personally]

1/2 package Asian Noodles
     [recipe called for Soba, I had Thai Rice Vermicelli]
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 TBSP plus 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 (6-inch) strip of kombu
   [I have this on hand because I make Miso soup a lot but you can get on amazon.com SEE LINK BELOW or at a local Asian Market]
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
   [recipe called for shiitake I had regular white mushrooms]
2 chicken breasts
   [recipe called for 4 oz. tofu, we were in mood for chicken]
2 tablespoons tamari
   [I happened to have this, it's a gluten free soy sauce, but regular soy sauce would work just as well]
1/4 cup white miso
2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1 1/2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
   [one big handful per bowl]


WHAT YOU DO:

 Cook your chicken breasts, I simply pan fried over medium heat in a tablespoon of sesame oil.  4 minutes per side and set aside to cool. At some point you will need to cube.

 Cook your noodles as per package directions until al dente [cooked but firm]. Drain and rinse well under cold water. Immediately transfer to a bowl, drizzle with 1/4 teaspoon of the sesame oil and toss gently to coat.  Set aside.

 Put the broth in the same pot you cooked the chicken in, I did not rinse but did a quick scrape to remove some of the fat left from the chicken.  Bring broth to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low, add the kombu and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the kombu with a slotted spoon and discard. Add the mushrooms, chicken and tamari, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Put 1/2 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 and remaining sesame oil. 

It's ready!

Put a large handful of spinach in each bowl, top with a scoop of noodles and ladle in the soup.

MMMM MMMM Good!

NOTE REGARDING LEFTOVERS: Store the noodles, spinach and soup separately.