Watch this video to see how I made a DELICIOUS bowl of noodle soup from scratch! Scroll down to get the written recipe.

There’s something so so comforting about a hot bowl of noodle soup. I want to say it’s an Asian thing, but it’s not even! When I think about the popularity of chicken noodle soup, I realize that noodle soup is just a universally loved comfort food.

The other day, I was desperately craving a hot bowl of noodle soup but I didn’t want to make a broth from scratch (nor did I want to have another packet of instant ramen). But I realized that I had a little bit of cold soba noodle dipping sauce in the fridge which I made a long time ago. I decided to alter it a little bit to make it into a hot broth and it turned out beautifully. So I thought… I need to make this into a recipe!

What’s great about this is that you can keep the base of this broth in the fridge and when you have those days like I do (often) when you’re just craving a hot noodle soup, you can just take out the broth base and make a soup easily. Once you have this, making a noodle soup will be so so easy.

Noodle Soup Broth Base Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup mirin
• 4-6 pieces dried kelp
• 5-7 pieces dried green onion heads (optional)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce or alternative

Instructions:

1. Add water, mirin, dried kelp and green onion heads into a pot and bring to a boil on high heat.
2. Once boiling, turn heat down low and simmer for about 15 minutes, covered.
3. Add soy sauce and bring back to a soft boil and remove from heat.
4. Allow to cool down then strain out the kelp and green onion heads.
5. Use as a cold soba noodle dipping sauce or as the base of a noodle soup broth by adding a desired amount of water (as this is a very salty base, you’ll need to add water if using as soup).
6. Keep in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge for up to a month.

Hot Soba Noodle Soup Recipe (Vegan & Gluten-free)

Ingredients (1 serving):

• 1/4 cup Noodle Soup Broth Base (see above for recipe) – add more based on preference of taste, but start with this
• 1.5 cups of water – add more or less depending on preference
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp Gochugaru, Korean Red Chili Pepper Flakes (optional)
• 1 head baby bok choy
• 1/4 block soft tofu, cubed
• 1 stalk green onion, chopped
• 1 serving soba (buckwheat) noodles – if gluten-free, make sure you use 100% buckwheat noodles or check ingredients
• 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame beans

Instructions:

1. In a pot, add Noodle Soup Broth Base, water, ginger, garlic, gochugaru and baby bok choy and bring everything to a boil.
2. Once it comes to a strong boil, turn the heat to a medium-low and add in soft tofu and half the green onions. Boil softly for about 10 minutes while you prepare the noodles.
3. In another pot, cook soba noodles according to instructions. Also add in the edamame beans.
4. Give the broth a taste to see if you need to adjust anything like add more water or add more broth base.
5. Once noodles are cooked, drain and add into a large serving bowl. Pour in the broth and top with the rest of the green onions.
6. Serve immediately!