I’m a huge soup fan. Chunky, smooth, creamy, or noodle-y, come wintertime, I want all the soups, all the time. Thankfully, not all soups take hours to make. This corn soup, thickened with a bit of tofu and seasoned with sweet and mellow white miso, is a fast favorite once the temperature starts to dip.
my superpowerful, tiny vitamix s30. i love this guy!
I love this soup mostly because of the pairing between sweet corn and miso, but also because of the textural contrast added by the crunchy tofu, and, of course, the tofu itself! Oh, how I love tofu in soup.
It’s one of my favorite tricks, using tofu to thicken soup. Silken tofu adds body and creaminess without cream. It’s funny because I’m not remotely vegetarian or vegan, but after the fact, I figured out this soup was a bunch of those catchphrase foods trends that are so hot right now: vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free.
Mike: That was pretty tasty.
Me: Right!? And so easy! Only corn, onions, tofu and miso!
Mike: Wait – what? I ate vegan food and liked it?!
Me: Huh, it is vegan. Funny!
I may not be on the up and up with healthy food trends, but I do love something that seems to be quite popular in the kitchen: blenders. I use mine mainly for soups, dressings, and smoothies. My tiny (compared to the behemoths that are the regular Vitamixes) S30 personal-sized Vitamix is perfect for making soup for two. It’s super powerful and even heats soups up while you blend. It’s truly one of my favorite kitchen appliances and in the spirit of the holiday season I’m giving one away!
Miso Corn Soup Recipe
serves 2-3Soup
- oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cups corn (I used frozen corn)
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 package silken tofu, about 1/4 – 1/3 cup
- 1 1/2 tablespoon white miso paste, or to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Crispy Tofu Croutons
- tofu, as needed
- oil, preferably safflower, sunflower, or grapeseed
- salt, if desired
Garnish
- sliced green onions
- crispy tofu croutons (recipe below)
- flaky sea salt
- red pepper flakes
In a skillet, heat up a small bit of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring, until soft and translucent. Add the corn and warm through briefly. Remove the onion and corn from the heat and place in a blender with the chicken broth, tofu, and miso paste. Blend until smooth and hot if using a Vitamix. Taste and adjust the thickness of your soup based on preference. If you like a thicker soup, add more tofu, if you like a thin soup, use some broth to thin it out. If needed, return the soup from the blender to the skillet and heat up until steaming.
Make the tofu croutons: Cut the remaining tofu up into 2 cm cubes. Set on paper towels, flipping so all sides drain. In a skillet, heat up a generous amount of oil over medium high heat. Fry the tofu, flipping as needed, until golden brown and crisp, 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels and season with salt, if needed.
Taste and adjust seasoning with miso and freshly ground pepper. Serve hot with sliced green onions, crispy tofu, sea salt and red pepper flakes. Enjoy!
WIN ME!!!
Giveaway: I paired up with Vitamix to give away one Vitamix S30! I absolutely love mine and know you will love yours too!
Enter: To enter, leave a comment below with your favorite soup memory. I want to hear ALL the details! I’ll randomly choose a winner and contact them by email. Open to Canadian and US Residents only. (Sorry international friends!) Contest ends December 20th at 12AM PST. Good luck!
Update: Congrats Jenna @ Just J.Faye, you’ve won yourself a brand new Vitamix! Happy Christmas! Keep an eye out for an email from me!
When I was a kid, almost every Sunday before church my family would go to White Spot for lunch. We all had a weakness for their clam chowder and to this day, no matter where I am, if I see clam chowder, doesn’t matter if it’s Manhattan or New England, I have to have it!!! Just thinking about it is making me drool…
Growing up we had half days at school once a month. My grandfather would make pasta fagioli every time and I couldn’t wait!
My favorite soup memory was the first time I had potato leek soup. I as working in the field and one of my coworkers made the best soup I have ever had: it had smokey bacon with rustic roasted potatoes with leeks braised white wine, all simmered in a delicious stock!
One of the first dishes my boyfriend and I ever decided to make together was Butternut Squash soup. It was a spontaneous idea and we found a quick recipe on our phones at the grocery store while picking up all the ingredients. When we finally made it one night, we had a good chat while chopping up veges and the soup itself ended up being delicious… so good in fact that we made more… and more… and before you knew it, we’ve been drinking soup for a month straight and both 5 lbs lighter! Although butternut squash is a seasonal item, we still try and pick one up when we see it available in grocery stores to this day… and when we do make it, we make a huge tub of it – freeze it and just defrost it every time we have a craving for something hot.
Making matzo ball soup!
My favorite soup memory is Senate navy bean soup. I got the original recipe from the US Senates web site years back (its really a simple recipe). Raising four kids this soup is not only economical it really hits the spot on cold days with its smoked ham hocks. I have since altered it a little, I smoke my own ham hocks for seasoning purposes and such. The best part is even though my kids have grown they all want bean soup when they visit. And that warms my heart any day.
My mom always makes wild rice soup the night before Thanksgiving. Such great memories of eating that during the holidays and with all the wonderful Thanksgiving leftovers.
My grandmother was the queen of vegetable soup! After she died, my mom tried to recreate her soup but it turned out like sludge! It was so thick, you could literally serve it with an ice cream scoop, and it had a strange green-ish color. Some things are best left to the professionals.
I am a sucker for a great tortilla soup. My favorite is Rick Bayless’s simple tomato and chile broth with chicken chunks and garnishes galore. My mom and I used to love making it with leftover turkey after thanksgiving.
When I read your requirement, I had to laugh. My favorite soup memory is when I was probably 10 years old, and my mom had made a wonderful ham soup for Christmas lunch. My grandmother was chatting and eating, we were all having a fantastic lunch…and then…my grandmother’s false teeth fell right out into her soup and splashed soup all over her face. Just thinking about that day makes me laugh and appreciate what a fabulous childhood I had. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
fairyfractal at gmail dot com