This soup takes a shortcut to flavour by adding ginger, garlic, and a dash of heat to your favourite vegetable stock. It’s further enriched with mushrooms, soy sauce, and a dash of peanut butter for a rich broth that’s poured over prepared vegetables, in this case edamame, bok choy, carrots, and green onion. Feel free to vary the ingredients with whatever you have in your fridge. You can kick the spice level up by serving it with a spoonful of your favourite chili oil.
Make ahead
If you want to make this soup ahead of time, slice the vegetables and keep them separate from the broth with mushrooms in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, heat the broth and pour over the vegetables as indicated in the recipe.
This recipe was originally published in the January 2026 issue of alive magazine.
Soba Noodle Soup with Vegetables, Ginger, and Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp (45 mL) finely chopped garlic
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) finely chopped gingerroot
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried red pepper flakes
- 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cups (1 L) vegetable stock
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) tamari or soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) peanut butter
- 3 oz (85 g) soba noodles, cooked and rinsed
- 1 baby bok choy, cut lengthwise into 6 pieces
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) frozen edamame, blanched
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) green onion
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) rice or apple cider vinegar
- Chili oil for serving, optional
Directions
01
In soup pot on low heat, add sesame oil and sauté garlic and gingerroot for about 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and sauté for 3 minutes more. Add mushrooms and stir occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Mushrooms will begin to soften and release a bit of their moisture. Add about 1/4 cup (60 mL) vegetable stock and stir, scraping up contents from bottom of pan. Add tamari and allow to simmer for a few minutes to concentrate the flavour before adding peanut butter and remaining stock. Let broth simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until warmed through.
02
Meanwhile, prepare 2 bowls by dividing noodles, bok choy, edamame, carrots, and green onion between them. When ready to serve, add vinegar to broth and ladle with mushrooms over each bowl. Add a spoonful of chili oil if you enjoy extra spice.
