Soba Noodle Soup

Sometimes you just need to enjoy something, well, brothy.  A healthy, light, brothy soup.  Just to feel better.  Whether I'm feeling under the weather or just in need of a light meal, a restorative and comfortable bowl of steaming hot soup always hits the spot.  A few ingredients and some store bought broth can turn an often times bland dish into a nourishing and delicious meal.  A riff on Vietnamese pho, this soup is flavored with star anise, ginger, lemongrass and cinnamon.  Shiitake mushrooms give the soup a rich meaty flavor, while the buckwheat soba noodles add an addictive nuttiness.  Spicy, healthy, feel-good food.  A bowl of hot soup always makes things better.

Soba Noodle Soup
serves 4

3-4 oz soba noodles
6 cups store-bought vegetable broth
4-5 star anise pods
1 cinnamon stick
4 lemongrass stalks, tough ends removed
1 two-inch knob of ginger, cut in half
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 pint of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
1 hot pepper (preferable thai) thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
lime wedges for serving
cheese cloth
kitchen twine

In a medium to large sauce pot, boil water for cooking the soba.  Once boiling, add the soba and cook for 4 minutes.  Drain noodles into a colinder and rinse 2-3 times with cold water.  Set aside and allow to drain.

Add the broth to a soup pot or large dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Carefully bruise the lemongrass stalks by pounding them with a meat tenderizer or using the flat side of a chopping knife and pounding it with the heel of your hand. You will notice that this releases the juice from the stalks.  Lay out your cheese cloth (you'll only need about a 6x6 inch square) and place your lemongrass, star anise, cinnamon stick and ginger on top.  Wrap the cheese cloth around the spices to form a bundle and tie tightly at the top with kitchen twine.  Place the bundle into the broth, along with the chopped shallot and garlic, and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes (the longer it simmers, the more flavor you get). Turn the heat back up to high, add the soy sauce, sliced hot pepper and sliced shitakes and allow to boil for 5 minutes.  Turn the heat off, add the cooked noodles and serve with lime and fresh cilantro.

Note:  This soup is even better heated up the next day.

Earthy shiitake mushrooms give this soup an almost meaty flavor.

Soba noodles, packed with buckweat flour.  Nutty, filling and  healthy.

It's amazing what a few flavorings can do for this soup.

Feel-good food at its best.