Miso Noodle Soup

I'm pretty sure the first thing I ever learned to cook was Top Ramen. I remember coming home after school and cooking myself up a batch. I even used to add vegetables, so it would look like the picture on the package.

These days I never buy packaged ramen, though I am still very fond of a steaming bowl of noodle soup. Last night I made this, and it was delicious!

The wonderful thing about noodle soups is that you can use whatever you happen to have in your fridge. We had recently cooked up a bunch of fresh corn to freeze, so I had a lot of corn water to use for my soup stock. Here's my recipe, you will notice I don't worry too much about quantities- trust your instincts!

Take about 2 quarts of  stock, and start heating it in a large pot. While the soup stock is heating, sliver up some carrots, onions, cabbage, and red bell pepper, or whatever vegetables you have on hand. You could also add tofu, if you like it.

Sauté all the veggies in a large pan, and remove them from the pan into a bowl when they are becoming tender but are still a little bit crunchy. When the corn stock came to a boil,  put in a large handful of udon noodles. While the noodles are cooking, beat 2 eggs. Heat some oil in the same pan that you cooked the veggies in. When the oil is hot,  pour in the eggs. This is just like making an omelet- add salt and pepper. (If you are not an egg eater, just leave out this step- your soup will still be delicious). Cook your egg circle until it is getting golden spots on both sides, then remove from pan and cut into strips. By now your noodles should be tender. Add some freshly grated ginger, along with your sautéed veggies, and turn off the heat.

To finish the soup, ladle about one cup of the hot stock into a bowl, and whisk in a couple tablespoons of miso paste. When this mixture is smooth, add it back in to the pot. If your soup doesn't taste salty enough, you can add more miso or some tamari.

Now ladle the soup into individual bowls, and top each bowl with egg strips and slivered scallions or chives. This is way better than Top Ramen- enjoy!