Creamy Raw Vegan Miso Sea Vegetable Chowder (Recipe!)

In terms of truly nourishing comfort foods, little can compare to a warm bowl of soup, especially when that soup happens to be miso. Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning commonly made from a combination of fermented soybeans, salt, and rice koji. It is rich with healthy probiotic bacteria that can help boost immunity and aid in digestion. Just make sure to choose an unpasteurized miso in order to get these probiotic benefits. Allergic or avoiding soy? No problem, miso comes in other varieties as well such as adzuki bean, barley, brown rice, or chickpea, which is what we've used here. Fall is the perfect time of year to start making miso a regular part of your diet - your belly and immune system will thank you! 

For this recipe, instead of keeping our miso brothy, which is more traditional, we decided to make a more hearty and filling soup using a miso broth as the base, then adding in cashew milk and tahini for added creaminess. We also added in fresh ginger root, garlic, and our favorite anti-inflammatory spice of all - turmeric - to boost that immune system, not to mention wake up those taste buds. The flavor of sea vegetables goes perfectly with miso, and their vast array of trace minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, and iodine, helps to fortify the blood and encourage healthy thyroid function. You can leave your veggie add-ins raw like we did here, or steam them before hand before adding them into your creamy miso soup base.  

The Recipe

Creamy Raw Vegan Miso Sea Vegetable Chowder 

Serves 2

Ingredients

Miso Soup Base

1.5 Tbs unpastuerized chickpea miso (if using soy miso use less as it will be more salty)

1 tsp lime

1 Tbs Dastony Stone Ground Sesame Tahini (or you could use Dastony Stone Ground Coconut Butter)

1 cup warm or hot water (but not boiling)

1 cup raw cashew milk*

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chopped ginger 

1 small clove garlic 

Chopped Veggie Add-Ins

Kale 

Carrot

Green Onion

Cilantro

Avocado

Sea vegetables - we used raw nori sheets and atlantic dulse torn into pieces - so good!

*Make raw, unflavored cashew milk by soaking 1 cup of cashews overnight  (or for at least a few hours), then rinse and blend with 3-4 cups of pure water. Strain through a nut milk bag to remove any fiber. 

Instructions

1. Bring 1 cup of water to a near boil.

2. In a blender carafe, add in all of your soup base ingredients including the 1 cup of water you just heated. Blend until smooth and creamy. 

3. You can either add your veggie add-ins to a bowl and pour on your soup base, or you can pour your soup base back into your pot on the stove, add in some of the more hearty veggie fixings like carrots and kale, then re-heat a bit to soften the veggies up. It is up to you! You could also simply drink the creamy miso soup in a mug without any veggies at all as a warming, nourishing savory snack. 

Enjoy and be vibrantly well!