Whenever there are unhappy tummies or a bout of cold viruses spreading through our house, noodle soups are my go-to cure-all remedy. In my opinion, there is nothing as healing as a warm bowl of broth spiked with fresh ginger, garlic, lemon, and herbs. Homemade broth is a familiar, comforting, deliciously medicinal mouthful of scrumptiousness you won’t need to chase down with a spoonful of sugar. So whether it’s a traditional chicken noodle soup, Pho, Ramen, or some variation of the three set up your favorite soup pot or slow cooker and make a steaming bowl of healing broth to help keep your family’s aliments at bay.

Soba Noodles in Ginger Lemongrass Broth with Mushrooms & Miso 

Ingredients: 

The Broth:

1 stalk fresh Lemongrass, trimmed & outer leaves discarded

1″ piece of fresh Ginger, skin removed and left whole

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 cup Phillips Gourmet Mushroom Blend

1 lg Carrot, trimmed & left whole

2 stalks Celery, trimmed & left whole

1/2 Sweet Onion, sliced

1 tbsp Vegetable Better Than Bouillon

1 tbsp Hoisin Sauce

1/4 tsp Raw Sugar

1/4 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar, or to taste

2 dried Chili de Arbol, optional

6 cups Water

The Soup:

1 pkg Asian Gourmet Chuka Soba Curly Noodles, or Soba of choice

1/2 cup Phillips Gourmet Mushroom Blend

1 Carrot, julianned

1 tbsp White Miso Paste

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method: 

In a Dutch Oven or slow cooker, add all the broth ingredients. Bring up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the broth is complex in flavor and fragrant, 45 minutes up to 4 hours. Remove the carrot and celery stalks and discard. Remove the ginger and lemongrass, set aside. If desired or if using, remove the chili de arbol and discard (I add the chiles to my bowl because I love the extra heat).

Once the ginger and lemongrass has cooled enough to handle, chop and add back to the broth. Bring the broth backup to a boil and add in the julienned carrots, additional mushrooms and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are fork tender. Next add in the Soba noodles and cook per the package directions. Once the noodles are tender, stir in the miso paste. Simmer an additional 5 minutes then turn off the flame. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately.