Zen and the art of noodle soup

Sometimes food is merely sustenance. Sometimes we need nourishment, other times comfort and sometimes food is art. Today I made a lunch that was so beautiful, the old cliche 'looks good enough to eat' entered my mind. Not only did it please the eye, it satiated my hunger and made me feel wholesome and healthy, containing such things as sea weed, kale and sunflower sprouts.

 

I recently noticed a few articles about roasted radishes and was intrigued. Apparently, roasting brings out their root vegetable earthiness and considerably mellows the strong pepper flavour. I did indeed find that all traces of the usual pungency had softened, but I didn't cook them long enough to really appreciate the difference. What was surprising was the way the colour faded from cerise to baby pink and the strange wrinkling of the skin so that they resembled walnuts with a candy coloured jacket. From this...

To this.... after leaving some in the fridge overnight, the colour simply began to disappear.

The main component of the soup was a packet of  'miracle noodles'. so called because of their low fat, calorie and carbohydrate content.They have a peculiar texture, almost crunchy, like tobiko but also gelatinous. They have absolutely no flavour but in a soup they absorb all the other tastes and add some interest. They also smell pretty revolting when you first open them, being made from tofu but having a fermented aroma.

Surely when we eat something that we instinctively know is benefiting our health, the psychological impact is also favourable. All I know is that I feel great after having eaten something like this, full of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants and, in contrast, I feel completely gross if I've eaten at McDonald's or some other guilt-ridden, shame-inducing fast food joint, no matter how good it tastes.

Recipe :  Miso noodle soup

1 sachet of red miso soup

1 sachet seaweed soup (Wakamame)

1/4 red and yellow pepper, thinly sliced

4 pieces asparagus, sliced thinly

1 mushroom, sliced thinly

1 handful kale, shredded

1 tsp dried prawns

1 tbsp fresh peas

1/2 sachet shirataki noodles or whatever type you like, cooked

4 roasted radishes, sliced thinly

1 tsp bamboo shoots in chili oil

1 handful sunflower sprouts

a few sprinkles of Japanese seasoning (shichimi togarashi)

Heat 1 cup water in a pan and add the soup mixes, pepper, asparagus, mushroom, kale, prawns and peas and bring to the boil. Add the noodles and simmer for about 4 minutes to cook the vegetables.

Serve in a bowl and garnish with the radishes, bamboo shoots, sunflower seeds and Japanese seasoning mix.

If you wanted to turn this into something more substantial, a softly poached egg or some thinly sliced salmon would be a very welcome addition. Another idea would be some good quality raw beef, sliced wafer thin. Piled into the bowl before adding the steaming hot liquid, you would essentially have a sort of Vietnamese Pho.