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 mom always whips up a pot of chao whenever I’m not feeling well. It’s simple, but it always hits the spot.
Growing up my dad would always make us albondigas soup. So when dad makes it now, and tells me he made albondigas, I’m there!
adding cracker in soups to make them thicker
My favorite soups always come from the farmers market and random, clean-out-the-fridge soup cravings on cold days. I love to put pistou in a homemade vegetable soup or beef stew, and one of my favorite all-time soups anywhere is the ubiquitous tortilla soup, found in many variations here in Central Texas. My favorite is one with a clear, tomato-y broth with avocado, cilantro, chicken, and gooey cheese and lots of lime squeezed in at the last minute.
My wife introduced me to the joys of a hearty, chunky, noodle soup. I love it when her turn to cook comes up and she announces that there will be soup for dinner! The perfect combination of Miso, tofu, a generous helping of mushrooms, and whatever Soba noodles we have on hand. In addition to this, soup also serves as our fridge cleaning meal. Whatever happens to be on hand goes in there. Wilted Kale? Check! Random frozen veggies? Check! Chunks of roasted squash? (No, we will eat that on its own!) Soup also allows us to use a combination of chopsticks and spoons, making for a fun meal while keeping our hipster street-cred current. We excitedly sit down to the meal arming ourselves with the sriracha and braggs, delivering generous portions of each into our already full bowls. As we devour the soup and begin to heat up and wipe our runny noses, we shed layers, adding some extra fire to the evening. Soup nights nourish, hydrates, and feeds warmth to our souls after a cold dark day in the depth of winter.
Hmmm, I think I know what I will be making for dinner tonight!
My earliest memory of eating soup is my fondest. Great-grandma always had a pot of the best homemade chicken soup simmering on the stove. My mother would take my grandmother and us kids to visit regularly. I loved listening to grandma and great-grandma speak rapidly in Czech even though I couldn’t understand a word, but occasionally I would sneak off to explore the old-fashioned sewing machine. There were also sometimes cooking lessons, where no bowls or measuring cups were ever used. You scooped a mound of flour onto the table, made a “well” in the middle, and added the wet ingredients. I still remember the day my mom stopped great-grandma after every step so she could scoop the ingredients back up and measure them. The house was filled with four generations of family, love and wonderful aromas. Then, before we left, great-grandma would make a pile of egg drop noodles. Soup time at last! And that is why I love soup.
It sounds gross and I wouldn’t eat it now that I know better, but my favorite soup-related thing growing up was a bowl of Campbell’s green pea soup filled up with crumbled saltine crackers.
I love the cheesy potato soup that my dad makes….one step inside the house and you know what’s cooking. It’s by far not the healthiest dish, but it’s a family favorite and usually only made when the entire family gets together so it’s extra special.
Making pea soup for my son, he was always such a picky eater, but he liked frozen peas, so when I suggested pea soup, he was eager. Naturally I filled it full of carrots, onions, leeks, and any other leftover veggies in the frig, blended it all very smooth and he loved it!!! He has been eating ‘pea’ soup for years now, I always have to make a batch to freeze for his apartment at college.
My favorite soup memory is when my mom would make us tomato soup with swiss cheese in it and grilled cheese sandwiches. We’d dip our sandwiches into the soup. When I was a kid I wasn’t a huge fan of tomato soup but I like it now. Now I only like fresh homemade soups! :-)