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.
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!
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!
During a semester abroad in Rome the little Italian ladies who made dinner for our campus every evening always had the most amazing pasta e fagioli soup. I have tried many a recipe and have failed to make the soup as good as I had it there..
Every Christmas my mom and dad make us a kimchi and potato soup. My dad is Korean, but doesn’t cook it very often and my mom is German so it’s always so special to have them cook something together that we love and represents our family.
Growing up, my Dad did most of the cooking as he is an excellent cook. However, my mom had her specialties, too- one of them being potato soup. It was incredible and creamy, and I’d crush some saltines into it, or we’d add sausage adn it was always just so good. Having developed a gluten allergy 5 years ago, I haven’t had it in or a suitable replacement in quite some time, but I still cherish the memories with that recipe. :)
My favorite soup recipe was realizing my husband could actually cook a good chili!
I have a friend who really loves soup. Every time I have soup I think about her, it’s a memory that always repeats itself, which is awesome.
My mom used to make potato soup from scratch and none of us kids would touch it. I can still remember the smell. Don’t remember why we wouldn’t eat it. But then one day, I had come home from school for the weekend and she was fixing the soup. I sat up on the counter (as always), watched and visited. The soup smelled sooooooooooo good. Tasted it and loved it. The smile on her face was (as they say) priceless. She has been gone for a very long time now. But whenever I have potato soup, mom is there with me.
It’s a very basic memory, but my Mom was the master of making chicken noodle soup when I was sick as a kid. My Dad, too, actually. They would try to use the canned stuff as I requested, but then would add extra ingredients and serve it with fresh cracked black pepper and plenty of oyster crackers.
There is nothing like clam chowder at the beach. Somehow, even though it’s humid, clam chowder manages to be exactly the right thing to eat. I love chunky, creamy New England style chowder, and if some fresh corn kernels and bacon ends up in there, that’s a bonus.
I love soup!!! Snuggling up with a warm bowl of soup is my fav!~ I remember my mom making her special ABC soup. SHe recently shared it with me and I made it for my family.Yum!
Growing up in China, I was used to having chicken broth made from “black chicken”. The skin of the chicken is pitch dark! I can’t find any of those in the states now that I live here and I remember one time trying to dye a cornish hen (similar in size to a “black chicken”) with squid ink and made soup with it. It was a big mess and the broth turned out dark, lol. Needless to say I’d never attempt to make that again. I’ll have Black Chicken Soup when I go visit China!