I only eat out occasionally and try to stay on top of my meal prep for health reasons, and of course, financial ones too. But sometimes there are some exceptional dishes you end up ordering again and again, until you have to put a stop and ask yourself if you can reproduce it at home–or even improve it by customizing it with your favorite ingredients.
This edamame soba noodle bowl, my version of a dish from Panera, is a such an example. They really nailed it with this vegetarian bowl and although it’s pretty easy to make it from scratch (all the ingredients are listed on their site), there’s always room for playing with ingredients. For instance, I would double the edamame, add more veggies, add a squirt of lemon or lime juice or give it a twist with some red onion sprouts.
The secret of this satiating bowl is the combination of protein and fiber, and the umami miso broth. Of course you can put together noodles and veggies, but it’s in the way you spice it up to make the bowl a success. Soba noodles are basically buckwheat pasta, a way healthier version of the plain flour noodles. Buckwheat is gluten-free and packed with important concentrations of minerals, especially magnesium, manganese and copper.
The protein from this bowl comes from buckwheat (about 13 grams per cup), edamame (about 11 grams per cup) and mushrooms (about 4 grams per cup), so it’s no wonder having a bowl like this will keep you satiated just as much as having a big steak. Add the fiber from all the vegetables and the complex carbs from buckwheat and you’ll get a complete, nourishing meal.
Edamame Soba Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen edamame pods defrosted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots cut into cubes
- 1/4 small white cabbage diced
- 6 portobello mushrooms diced
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons red miso paste
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 bunch soba noodles
- 1 cup greens of choice kale, beet leaves, chard, radish leaves, chopped
- Lime juice to serve
- Sprouts of choice to garnish
Instructions
- Remove the edamame beans from the pods.
- In a large skillet, add the olive oil and the vegetables (except the spinach and greens), and cook for ten minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Add the spinach, cook for two more minutes, turn off the heat and set aside.
- In a medium soup pot, add the vegetable broth and bring to boil over medium heat.
- In a small pot, mix the miso paste with paprika, cayenne, salt and vinegar and add into the simmering water. Stir to combine.
- Add the soba noodles and greens into the broth and simmer for three minutes over low heat, until the noodles are tender.
- Divide the noodles and broth into the serving bowls, add the vegetables, drizzle with lime juice and garnish with sprouts.
- Serve warm.
What water? There is mention of vegetable broth but no water until direction #5. “In a small pot, mix the miso paste with paprika, cayenne, salt and vinegar and add into the simmering water. Stir to combine.” Thanks.