Whenever I was feeling under the weather or coming home from a long trip, my mother would make this soup for me. Now whenever I feel like I need a little extra love in my bowl, I make it. It’s like a warm hug. Traditionally this soup is made on the New Year to signify new beginnings so the timing couldn’t be more perfect! It requires a couple specialty ingredients that you can certainly find at your local Asian grocer or online.
Happy New Year!

Broth base:
1 large onion
6 cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled
2 stalks scallion 
1 daikon radish roughly chopped 
1 teaspoon sea salt 
2 tablespoons of tamari 
4 sheets of kombu
1 knob ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 
Tablespoon of avocado oil 
2 cups of cooked mung bean noodles
2 cups of baby spinach 
1 cup of shitake mushrooms or enoki mushrooms 
1 scallion chopped 
Topping:
Roasted nori seaweed 
Dash of togarashi
Vegan kimchi 
Toasted sesame oil 
Tamari 

In a large stockpot, heat avocado oil. Add chopped onion, grated ginger, scallion, daikon radish, celery and garlic. Then cover veggies with 4 sheets of kombu. When fragrant, add 4 quarts of water. Season with sea salt and bring to a boil. Let simmer for at least an hour, up to 3 hours. Let cool and strain out veggies. Put broth back into stock pot for soup (if you are only preparing soup for one or two you can save the broth and freeze for later) and season with a little tamari and sesame oil.
Bring the pot back into the boil and add chopped mushrooms and rice cakes. Let simmer for about 5-8 minutes until rice cakes are tender. Then add spinach. Let simmer another 5 minutes and turn off heat. Add Cooked mung bean noodles into broth. Ladle soup with noodles, rice cakes and veggies into bowls. Garnish the bowl with kimchi, toasted nori and a little dish of togarashi. You could also drizzle a little more sesame oil and tamari. Serve hot!
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