A simple miso soup sachet can be turned into a Japanese-inspired meal with a few simple additions.

Dried mushrooms bestow a deep and hearty flavour to a basic miso soup base. By using fresh vegetables and proteins that don’t require additional cooking, this meal is as quick and easy as it gets.

Profile
Cost: $4
Serves 2
Time: 10min cooking, 20min prep/wait time

Ingredients
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 miso soup sachets 
Peeled ginger slices (just a few)
Silverbeet (or kale or spinach), a big handful
200g tofu
180g soba noodles (or udon)
2 soft boiled eggs (do this at home)
Fresh coriander, torn
1 spring onion, sliced
Sesame seeds
Chilli flakes

Method

Boil one-litre of water in a pot, turn off the heat and drop the mushrooms in. Finely chop the silverbeet, stalks and all (tear spinach/kale leaves if using), and cut the tofu into 30mm cubes. After about 20min, the mushrooms should have fully rehydrated – check their softness, then squeeze the water out of them back into the pot and tear/chop into big chunks. 

Reheat the mushroom water and when almost boiling add the miso soup sachets and ginger. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir to dissolve the miso paste. 

Add your leafy greens and cook for a few minutes (2min for spinach, 5min for silverbeet/kale). Peel the eggs. 

Add tofu and soba to the pot and stir to prevent soba sticking together. 

Cook for 3min, but check the soba every minute or so to get the preferred texture. Add the eggs and mushrooms and let them heat for 50sec. 

Remove from heat, pour into serving bowls and garnish with coriander, sliced spring onion, sesame seeds and chilli flakes.