Green tea miso noodle bowl
Who else is in need of a little extra calm right now? Life is busy, and life is change. There’s a lot of overwhelm. Adding coronavirus and tanking markets plus a backdrop of charged, tumultuous politics to just getting through the day…we all could use the reminder to breeeeeathe. Well, I’m little help with that and while I’m always striving to be as present as I can, I’m the first to admit I can be all talk when it comes to turning off worry. But at least I can help with the odd idea for an easy, healthy, and delicious weeknight supper!
Warm, flavorful, brothy noodle bowls are my FAVORITE soother. Not counting the sweetness of snuggles and the depth of meaningful friendship, of course. In any case, there’s no need to call for takeout or hit the grocery store freezer section after a harried day. Miso paste, garlic and ginger, and ORGANIC INDIA Tulsi Green Tea Infusion make for a light, warm, and soothing broth perfect for packing in vibrant veggies and hearty rice noodles–and it all comes together in minutes.
Loaded with antioxidants and nutrients, green tea is noted for a host of health benefits, including improved brain function, healthy metabolism, and more. ORGANIC INDIA Tulsi Green Tea Infusion is smooth blend of the finest green tea with Tulsi (Holy Basil), a powerful adaptogenetic herb. Revered in India as “The Queen of Herbs”, Tulsi has been used for more than 5000 years to aid in stress relief, naturally detoxify the body, and support the immune system.
Before signing out, can we get back to being in worry mode for just a minute? This weekend we went up to the mountains for a family hike and outing and Chef F just awed us with curiosity, questions, and deep thinking. Do black holes lead to another dimension? Do aliens need to breathe? Do all dimensions need the same things? If you get sucked down a black hole and stretched like spaghetti is it permanent? How long were dinosaurs around?
Maybe I shouldn’t have prefaced that last paragraph with getting back to worries. For Chef F, those weren’t worries. They were purely curiosities. Fascinations. Even when talk veered to the sun one day exploding and humankind’s tendency to destroy the planet. Not that compassion was absent. It was a perfect balance of wonder, innocence, and interest in both learning and setting things right. As we chatted about the dinosaurs—like, how they lived about 175 MILLION YEARS (!!!) versus our roughly 200,000 years walking this planet…I guess it was tempting to embrace a “don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff” attitude. But the truth is, no matter how trivial something is in the grand scheme of things shouldn’t trivialize its importance right now.
That was a long way of saying nothing, I know. But a little bit of nothing mingled with a little bit of perspective sometimes yields good results, even if it’s just a good head clearout for want of better action steps. Pair that with an easy weeknight dinner like this one, some slow bites and downtime are sure to nourish your soul while relieving the day’s stress.
Green Tea miso noodle bowls
2 Cups boiled water
3 ORGANIC INDIA Tulsi Green Tea Infusion sachets
2 Cups vegetable stock or dashi broth
1 Cup shitake mushroom caps, sliced
1 ½-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 red bell pepper, shredded
1 Cup shelled edamame, defrosted from frozen
1 Tablespoon light soy or tamari sauce
¼ Cup white miso paste
4 cups chopped greens of choice (kale, spinach, collard), fresh or frozen
8-ounces brown rice noodles (or noodles of choice)
For garnish: your choice of thinly sliced scallions, roasted peanuts or cashews, cilantro, lime wedges
Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water, then set aside.
Steep ORGANIC INDIA Tulsi Green Tea Infusion sachets in boiled water 3-5 minutes. Gently squeeze sachets before removing.
While tea is steeping, heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high. Add mushrooms, and cook until slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in ginger, garlic, carrots, red pepper and edamame and continue to cook, stirring, a further minute.
Add tea and stock to the pan. Bring to a near boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Stir in miso paste, soy sauce or tamari, and greens. Simmer approximately 2-3 minutes.
Stir the drained noodles into the vegetable mixture and continue simmering a few more minutes. Divide noodles evenly among bowls and ladle warm vegetable mixture on top. Add garnish as desired and enjoy!
This recipe was created for Organic India and first appeared here.