Ani’s Raw Miso Soup

Today I’ve got a special feature recipe from Ani’s Raw Food Asia for raw miso soup. Raw soup may sound odd, especially when it isn’t chilled either, but hear me out! Ani is an expert raw food chef and she knows a thing or two about authentic Asian cooking. And getting a jump start on cold and flu season doesn’t necessarily mean piping hot bowls of chicken soup.

According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, “If one mineral were awarded first prize for its beneficial effects on immune function, it would be zinc. A cofactor in a wide variety of enzymatic reactions, zinc is critical to immune function and wound healing.” Fortunately, miso is a good source of zinc. It’s also rich in copper and manganese, two other trace minerals essential for energy production and antioxidant defenses. But miso is best handled with care, as heat can destroy many of its health benefits. That sounds like it contradicts the very idea of miso soup, doesn’t it?

Enter Ani’s Raw Food Asia. She has harnessed the power of miso and several healthy greens in an uncooked miso soup recipe. Her version is below, but I want to add a quick note on the temperature before you jump in. If you are like me, you may prefer your soup on the warm side. If you opt to heat the broth at all, be sure to add the miso at the very end, just before serving, to preserve its enzymatic benefits. Ani’s raw miso soup recipe is served at room temperature (lukewarm).

Want More of Ani’s Raw Food Asia? Try Ani’s Summer Rolls with Ginger “Peanut” Sauce

Special Diet Notes: Raw Miso Soup

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.

For soy-free raw miso soup, source a brown rice, chickpea, or barley miso. Though not as common as the soy versions, these varieties are fairly easy to find at natural food stores, online, or even in some conventional grocers. In Asia, you can even find millet- or rye-based miso paste.

Ani Phyo

Raw Miso Soup

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Miso is a living food. It starts off cooked, but it’s then fermented and contains living enzymes. The best way to enjoy miso is raw, and even in Asia, miso is added to warm, never boiling, water so as to not damage the enzymes and beneficial probiotic bacteria. Pasteurization kills beneficial bacteria, so make sure to use an unpasteurized miso. Most natural food stores have mung bean sprouts, but if you can’t find any, just use another sprout like alfalfa.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Calories:

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 2 cups washed coarsely chopped spinach
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons miso unpasteurized, any color
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons diced scallion

Method

 

1. Marinate sprouts and spinach by tossing with extra-virgin olive oil. Set aside to soften.
2. To make your broth, whisk together miso and a small amount of water. Slowly add remaining water, oil, and garlic. You can also blend if you want instead.
3. To serve, transfer broth into four serving bowls. Top with marinated sprouts and spinach and garnish with scallion. Enjoy immediately.
4. Broth will keep for 4 to 5 days when stored separately in fridge.

Notes

From the book Ani’s Raw Food Asia by Ani Phyo. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2011

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