Soup, soup, soup. I love soup. Chilly winter days, here in the great state of Minnesota, are so perfect with a nice bowl of warm soup and a comforting fire in the fireplace. And also a glass of nice red wine, but not with this soup- that won’t pair well, save the wine for later- or for drinking while cooking 😉
As I sit here and type this, on January 22 in Minnesota, it is 40 degrees and raining. There is no fire in the fireplace. But there is a glass of wine to my right. Never-mind the stupid weather, I’m making soup anyway! This soup is a welcome change from the typical winter soups, with an Asian flair and a bit of heat from some peppers. I think you’ll like it as much as I did. Plus, there are meatballs, so it’s even filling. Healthier meatballs. Read on.
I got this recipe from the January/February 2017 edition of Cooking Light. If you don’t subscribe to Cooking Light yet, you should, they always have something good! I made some changes, notably-I doubled the recipe, and I used 8 oz each of ground turkey and ground pork for the meatballs, and used more chicken stock than it called for.
Here’s what you need.
Start off by sauteing the green onions, garlic, and ginger with the sesame oil, in your dutch oven for about 6 minutes. Add the stock and simmer for about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the noodles according to package instructions, drain, and rinse with cool water.
Also meanwhile, make your meatballs: mix the honey, chile paste, pork, and turkey in a bowl. Get messy and use your hands to really mix it all together, then shape them into little meatballs (maybe 1/2 inch in diameter-should make about 12 meatballs). [I made mine a bit early and stuck them in the fridge for a couple hours, that’s just because I had time, you don’t need to.]
Use a slotted spoon to take the ginger and garlic out of the stock mixture- toss them. Then stir in the miso. Next add your meatballs to the stock/miso mixture.
This scared me a little bit, because I wasn’t convinced the simmering liquid would thoroughly cook the meatballs. So I looked up some other meatball soup recipes, and found that they all said the same thing, which made it seem more legit. So I went ahead and added them- turns out they do cook through nicely! Cook them in the liquid for about 6-8 minutes, until they’re done- they should float when they’re done (you can use a handy instant read thermometer or sneak one out and cut it half to check if you’re worried, like I was).
Now add the noodles to the soup. Stir them around.
Add the bean sprouts, more green onions, and chiles.
Sit down on the couch in front of your fire and enjoy!
(note: the long soba noodles make it sort of awkward to eat, like spaghetti, so don’t make this if you’re trying to impress a guy you just met)
(note#2: another reason why I love making soup, is it gives me a reason to use my pretty yellow Le Creuset dutch oven. She’s so pretty. They are retiring her color, but you can find her friends at Le Creuset stores and online)
- sesame oil- 4 t.
- green onion- ⅔ c. diagonally sliced
- garlic- 6 cloves, crushed
- ginger- 2 in. thinly sliced
- chicken stock- unsalted. 7-8 cups
- soba noodles- 4 oz
- honey- 2 t.
- chile paste- 2 t.
- ground pork- 8 oz.
- ground turkey- 8 oz.
- white miso paste- 4 t.
- mung bean sprouts- ⅔ cup
- fresno chile- 2, thinly sliced
- Saute the green onions, garlic, and ginger in the sesame oil for about 6 minutes.
- Add the stock, simmer for about 8 minutes
- Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles according to package instructions, drain, and rinse with cold water.
- Make the meatballs: use your hands to combine the honey, chile paste, and ground meat. Then shape into ½ balls.
- Remove the garlic and ginger from the stock using a slotted spoon- discard
- Add the meatballs to the simmering stock. Cook until cooked through, about 6 minutes.
- Add the noodles.
- Divide evenly between bowls.
- Add the bean sprouts, fresno chile slices, and remaining green onions
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