Easy and Comforting Tofu Noodle Soup
If you saw my last soup recipe, you know I am crazy about hot steamy bowls of filling and savory food.
There is nothing more comforting than a hearty bowl of noodle soup, especially during cold and flu season. I have countless memories of my mom making giant bowling pots of chicken noodle soup during winter and I wanted to re-create that hug-in-a-bowl for my own family. Instead of chicken, I use lightly spiced tofu gan, meaning dry tofu, as the texture is perfect for a soup as it’s heart enough to stand the boiling and broth.
I don’t know where this myth stated about chicken soup in particular being the cure-all for colds, as I have the exact same feeling when I eat this bird-free soup as I did when I ate mom’s as a kid. I think it’s really all about the nourishing vegetables and the love inside, those things have the power to make everything better.
I had these amazingly colorful wild carrots in my Goma Greens box this week and loved using them in this recipe! It definitely makes it more fun to eat for the kids! You can even call it unicorn noodle soup if they need an extra reason to try it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and that it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, just like it does to me!
Soulful Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 packages lightly seasoned tofu gan, cut into irregular chunks
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 3 stalks of celery, sliced
- 1 C of carrots, sliced
- 200g uncooked spiral pasta
- 1 C cooked barley
- 12 C filtered water
- 2 vegetable bullion cubes (or use 12 cups vegetable broth instead of water and bullion cubes)
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In large heavy bottom soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes, until onion is slightly translucent. Reduce heat as necessary so as not to burn the onion and garlic.
- Add carrot, celery, and tofu chunks to the pan, cooking for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are slightly tender. Stir occasionally.
- Add water and bullion cubes and bring to a boil. Add pasta, bay leaves, parsley, basil, salt and pepper.
- Adjust heat so that the soup is lightly boiling and cook pasta for 5 minutes. Add cooked barley and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, until pasta is tender.
Notes
And that’s it! It’s a super quick and easy recipe that makes a LOT of soup so you can freeze some for later! The pasta and barley will continue to soak up water, so you can add more filtered water and re-heat. At this point, I also add a bit of soy sauce to enhance the broth’s flavor.