Soba Noodles in Shiitake Mushroom Broth with Sesame Crusted Tofu and Pea Shoots is the vegetarian version of my Turmeric Ginger Chicken Barley Soup.

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By appearance and taste, these two soups seem to have nothing in common. But both were tailored for the way they tasted as much as what they could do for your body while sick.

It seems a lot of people are catching some version of the cold that I had. So I decided to play around with a vegetarian healing soup as well.

Soba Noodles in Shiitake Mushroom Broth with Sesame Crusted Tofu and Pea Shoots

Shiitake mushrooms help bolster your immunity. They also add a ton of “meaty” flavor to vegetable broth, which is the base of this soup. I played around with the broth, adding miso and coconut aminos.

But in the end, I liked the plain broth + salt and pepper the best. I actually threw out the miso version.

Soba noodles are the second part of the base. They are made out of buckwheat flour, which is high in protein, fiber, and antioxidants. I grabbed the Cha Soba (green tea noodles) because I was intrigued. Also matcha green tea is high in antioxidants, chlorophyll, and vitamins so I thought it couldn’t hurt right?

Tofu is the “meaty” protein topping. Protein is very important to healing. It’s why after surgery, as soon as you go from NPO (nothing by mouth) to full liquids, you get a nutritional drink that has a TON of protein. When sick it’s best to stick to easily digested protein like chicken, or tofu if you’re vegetarian.

I marinated and pan-fried the tofu because I wanted each of the soup’s toppings to have some flavor, since the broth is simple.

Pea shoots are my new favorite green. The stems are hollow, the leaves medium sized, and they taste like peas, which is AWESOME. When stir fried very briefly and then sprinkled with Himalayan Pink Salt, they have amazing flavor. I separated the stems and leaves for easier eating, but both go into the soup.

Bean sprouts are always a good idea for broth soups, a sprinkle of salt, and a generous squeeze of lime juice helps elevate all the flavors.

Preparation Tips

The recipe for this Soba Noodles in Shiitake Mushroom Broth seems kind of overwhelming. But it’s actually really easy.

• While the vegetable broth cooks (40 minutes), press the tofu (30 minutes).

• While the broth cools a little before you strain it, prepare the ingredients to marinate the tofu (30 minutes).

• As the tofu marinates, strain the broth, heat a pot to boil the noodles in, and stir fry the pea shoots.

Soba noodles are great because you cook them for 6 to 8 minutes, drain, dump in cold water and massage, and then drain again. When you cook them this way they can sit for long periods of time and not stick together. You can simply add them to your hot broth and presto-they’re ready to eat.

Prep some of the ingredients on different days too to make it even easier. The vegetable broth can be made weeks in advance. The recipe makes plenty of broth so you can use it for other dishes. Press and marinate the tofu the day before. For leftovers, store everything separately. The tofu, pea shoots, and noodles can simply be added into the reheated broth.

I recovered pretty well from my cold but I have a sneaky suspicion that it has migrated down to my gut. I feel completely better and my symptoms are gone. But I’ve been having problems with my digestion and can’t seem to find anything to eat that won’t upset it a little (or a lot). Back to the drawing board.