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!
My best soup memory is my mother’s cream of potato soup on winter nights. My potato soup is NEVER as good :)
My favorite soup will have to be the Korean seaweed soup. Mostly because if my mum prepares it, it means IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! (traditionally made and eaten in the morning of your birthday)
My favorite soup memory has to be when I met my dad for lunch on a cold December day. It was my first year out of college, so I was a young adult lost in the intimidating post-college-you’re-a-grown-up-now world and looked forward to comfort time spent with Mom and Dad. My Dad and I met at an adorable little cafe downtown in New York City’s West Village. I ordered a cream of tomato soup with grilled cheese. The soup was creamy, smokey, and spicy. You could taste the bacon and chile pepper in it. And the grilled cheese was on grilled fluffy white bread that had the essence of butter and oozed aged Gouda cheese. Dipping the rich grilled cheese into the smoky tomato goodness was certainly a gastro experience not to be forgotten!
broccoli, leek, potato from essex farm is our current fave.
Favorite soup memory is coming in for lunch on a winter weekend and having tomato soup (from a can), and adding goldfish crackers on top. Don’t know why, but it was exactly the right combo!
I once went on vacation with my late aunt and her family at a house we had rented for a week at a small Texas beach town. I was young and anti “trying new things,” but when you’re with someone else’s family you often don’t have such a luxury. At one point, my aunt made avocado soup. I had never even tried avocados before (not even guac), but tried it anyway (she made it using a blender, too) and became instantly in love. It was the perfect accompaniment to a hot Texas summer. I’ve since tried to recreate it, but haven’t found anything that has come close to matching my memory.
For nearly every day during high school, I would go over to my grandma’s house (She lived next door, and I was homeschooled.) to eat lunch. My favorite thing to have was her chili. I loved having that time with her. (She’s in heaven now.) I loved the feeling of freedom; it was just us 2 in the house, and she let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. Chili is still one of my favorite soups, and it always takes me back to that cozy place with her.
My Mom’s chicken soup with Chinese herbs, which includes dried jujubes and goji berries.
Coming from an Asian family, my mom used to make us oxtail soup. Whenever I have it, it’s totally nostalgic for me.
Matzo Ball soup. Watching my grandmother make it.