Ginger Soba Noodle Soup

I had some leftover Soba noodles in the fridge and wanted to use them up somehow. I love the challenge that comes with making an awesome dish with leftover ingredients. Lately I’ve been craving a pho-like broth soup and Soba noodles are the best thing around when they are put into broth-style soups. The only weird thing is, why am I craving hot soup while we’re having a heat spell here in the desert? Maybe I need to turn the AC down a notch. The ginger is at the forefront of this soup, next is the garlic. You get a little heat from the chili peppers, which in turn make the ginger seem like it is radiating heat. This is one of my favorite soup recipes.

Fresh ginger, it's not easy on the eyes, but one thing is for sure, what's inside is delicious! and this soup calls for a lot of it.

I made it possible for everyone to enjoy this soup by supplying a vegetarian and vegan version, as well.

~Vegetarian/Vegan version: replace beef broth, with vegetable broth, and steak  with tofu cut into little cubes.

Ingredients

• 4 cups organic beef broth
• 4 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups steak, chopped
• 2 cups soba noodles, cooked
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili flake
• 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 baby bok choy, chopped
• 2 cups baby broccoli, chopped
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

In a large soup pot, bring broth, water, sesame oil, salt, pepper, ginger, fresh and powdered garlic and chili flakes to a boil. Boil over a medium-high heat for 15 minutes. Add thinly sliced beef (or meat substitution). Boil for 15 minutes. Add cooked Soba noodles, red onion, broccoli and bok choy and boil for 5 minutes. Serve piping hot.