Low Carb Chicken & Veggies Miso Soup
For the past 2 weeks, I have been making this low carb chicken & veggies miso soup. My bowl of miso soup comes with boneless chicken, zucchini, daikon, hon shimeji mushrooms & tofu puffs.
See Also:
- Tonjiru (Pork & Veggies Miso Soup) Recipe
- Yosenabe (Japanese Hot Pot) Recipe
- More Delicious Low Carb Recipes
It also contains konnyaku (konjac), an almost zero-calorie ingredient. The konnyaku not only adds a nice chewy texture to the soup, it also provides more fullness as a faux carb for those eating this soup as a low-carb meal on its own without rice. You can omit, add less or more konnyaku to this soup recipe according to your preference.
STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS
Marinate boneless and skinless chicken pieces in seasonings for at least 15 minutes (or up to overnight) in the fridge.
First, drain and discard the liquid from the konnyaku bag. Cut the konnyaku block to desired thickness and shapes. I cut them to small thin squares as pictured above so that I can have chewy konjac in every spoonful. Add the konjac to a soup pot together with some cut daikon, …
… dashi powder, …
… and water. Bring to a boil (pictured above), cover with lid and simmer for 3 minutes.
Add marinated chicken and when the soup boils, reduce to a simmer. Skim off all the scum bits on the surface with a mesh skimmer (pictured above).
Add cut zucchini, Japanese scallion, beancurd puffs and hon shimeji mushrooms. Bring to a boil then simmer covered again for 3 minutes.
Add more water if required. Turn off the stove and immediately dissolve the miso paste through a miso strainer (I got this nifty tool from Daiso). If you don’t have this tool, whisk the miso paste in a bowl with some hot soup separately.
The quick miso soup is done! There are loads of ingredients in this soup. Even without the konjac, it is quite filling on its own as a light meal. This soup can accompany any Japanese or Asian meal.
Low Carb Chicken & Vegetables Miso Soup Recipe
The konnyaku (konjac) not only adds a nice chewy texture to the soup, but also provides more fullness as a faux carb for those eating this soup as a low-carb meal on its own. You can omit, add less or add more konnyaku to this soup recipe according to your preference.
In place of konnyaku, you can also use shirataki noodles which is made of the same type of (almost) zero calorie konjac noodles.
Ingredients:
- 200g boneless and skinless chicken thigh (or breast) cut to bite-size chunks
- 75 grams konnyaku (konjac) sliced to thin squares; see cooking note below
- 100g daikon sliced thinly to quarter moons
- 800ml water top up more water if needed later
- 2 tsp dashi powder
- 100g zucchini sliced thinly to half moons
- 2 beancurd puffs cut to small sections
- 1 stalk Japanese scallions (only the bottom white portion) sliced thinly
- 75g hon shimeji mushrooms ends trimmed
- 2 tbsp red or white miso paste to taste; see note below
- chopped spring onions to garnish
(A) Marinade
- 1/2 tbsp mirin
- 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp ginger juice
- 3 dashes white pepper powder
You also need:
- mesh skimmer
- miso strainer optional
Directions:
- Marinade chicken with seasonings (A) for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight in the fridge.
- Add konnyaku, daikon, water and dashi powder in a soup pot. Bring to a boil, cover with lid and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add marinated chicken including any leftover marinade sauce to the pot. When the soup boils, reduce to a simmer and skim off all the scum bits on the surface of the soup with a mesh strainer.
- Add zucchini, beancurd puffs, scallions and shimeji mushrooms. Simmer covered, for another 3 minutes.
- Dissolve miso paste. Turn off the stove. While the soup is piping hot, dissolve miso paste through a miso strainer. Alternatively, add miso paste in a small bowl, ladle hot soup and whisk to dissolve the miso, then pour the miso back to the pot.
- To serve, ladle to serving bowls and garnish with spring onions.
Cooking Note(s)
- This is a block of konnyaku aka Japanese yam or konjac cake.You need to drain and discard the liquid in the pouch before use. If you are sensitive to the smell of konjac, par-boil for 10 minutes before using. I personally can’t tell the difference so I get to skip the step of parboiling.
- You can use any variety of miso paste, with the red and white being the most popular types at the supermarket. I personally prefer red miso over the white variety for a richer taste and nicer colour.