A bowl of miso soup with mushrooms.
Photography, Jessica Kalman.

Quick Miso Noodle Soup

This easy gluten-free soba noodle soup is the perfect lazy weeknight dinner.

 

A bowl of miso soup with mushrooms.

Quick Miso Noodle Soup

Jannell Lo
With this super-quick broth, you can start your takeaway sushi meal with a restaurant-quality (and gluten-free) bowl of soup. Kimchi and preserved citrus add layers of bold flavour, but they’re not essential to the dish.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups water
  • 2 tbsp dried wakame seaweed
  • 1 tbsp hondashi see Notes
  • 1 tbsp unsalted cooking wine or sake
  • 115 g mushrooms such as cremini, oyster, shiitake and/or shimeji, stems removed and caps sliced
  • 1 scallion white and green parts separated, chopped
  • ½ yellow onion sliced
  • 140 g 100% buckwheat soba noodles or dried gluten-free spaghetti
  • Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
  • 225 g shredded cooked chicken or soft cubed tofu
  • 4 leaves napa cabbage or other type of cabbage
  • 1 tbsp gluten-free miso paste
  • 2 tbsp gluten-free chopped kimchi optional
  • 1 tsp yuzu paste or chopped preserved lemon or a squeeze of lemon juice optional
  • Asian greens chopped

Instructions
 

  • In medium pot, combine water, wakame, hondashi, cooking wine, mushrooms, white parts of scallion and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the flavours to infuse the broth.
  • Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package instructions. If using soba noodles, stir frequently as they’re prone to sticking together. Drain in colander and rinse under cool water. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil to prevent clumping.
  • Add chicken and cabbage to broth and simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and dissolve miso in broth. (The miso is added at the end to preserve its flavour and nutrients.) If using, stir in kimchi and yuzu paste.
  • Divide soup between two noodle-soup bowls. Add greens, and garnish with green parts of scallion.

Notes

Tip: To make this soup plant-based, omit the hondashi, which contains dried fish.
Keyword Gluten-free, miso, mushroom, shiitake mushrooms, soup

The cover of the My Best Friend is Gluten-Free cookbook on a beige background.

Recipe excerpted from My Best Friend is Gluten-Free: 100+ Asian-Inspired Recipes for Bringing People Together by Jannell Lo. Adapted for ELLE Gourmet. Copyright © 2025 Jannell Lo. Photographs by Jessica Kalman. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
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