Whenever a loved one suffers from an upset stomach or other sickness, my answer is usually miso soup. It is delicious, nourishing, and deeply healing due to the various probiotics and antioxidants naturally found in miso.
Miso is a paste made from fermented soy and rice, although there are plenty of brands that offer chickpea miso for soy allergies. Miso can also contain grains like barley or brown rice. Check out your local health food store to see all the varieties and find your favorite.
{Learn more about how the different varieties of miso are made and about the health benefits of miso here}
The most simple version of miso soup is simply miso paste mixed into some hot water. This miso broth is great if you are feeling really unwell and/or don’t have an appetite. If your patient (or you yourself!) are able to keep solid food down, you can make the soup a bit more nourishing by making the following recipe.
Change it up based on whatever greens or veggies you have at home, and be sure to save the kale stems for added nutrition in the soup. This is also great when you are NOT sick, perhaps just for a cozy night at home for a healthy family dinner. It’s also a deeply warming breakfast for the cold months.
Healing Miso Soup
4-6 cups water
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/4 cup sliced green stems (from kale, spinach, mizuna, choi sum, etc.)
1/4 cup miso, any variety
1 cups sliced greens (kale, spinach, etc.)
Fresh lemon and toasted sesame oil for garnish
- Bring water to a boil. Add onions, carrots, and stems and bring to a low boil. Let simmer until vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix miso with a few tablespoons water and stir until smooth.
- Reduce heat to low for soup, and stir in miso. Keep at a very low heat (do not boil) until ready to serve. Boiling destroys the benefitical probiotics in the miso, so keep the heat low!)
- Add greens just before serving; squeeze lemon and add a few drops of some sesame oil for extra flavor. You can also add noodles, rice, or beans when you have your appetite back.
I love miso soup! A friend and I were just talking about fermented foods at lunch yesterday, and I was telling her that miso is fermented and magical. I’ll send this recipe her way!
I have been wanting to get some miso since FOREVER. My sister’s go-to lunch is miso soup, and her talking about it made me crave it. And we’ve got an Asian grocery store just down the street. There’s no excuse, really.
Really would like to try this recipe, so I’ll get there soon. =)
Being the boyfriend in question, I can attest to the awesomeness of miso soup for healing a stomach that for some reason was really mad at me. hahaha. But seriously, it’s tasty and super healthy, and vegan to boot. Win-win.