Japanese soups are delicious. If you frequently dine in Japanese restaurants but never order soup as an appetizer, your taste buds are missing out. As the name suggests, Japanese clear soup is a highly seasoned broth that can be prepared with any type of meat, vegetables, spices, and herbs.
There are many varieties of clear Japanese soups, but today we’re going to show you how to prepare a killer Japanese onion soup from the comfort of your home.
Reasons to Drink More Soup
Soup makes for easy and quick comfort food, especially when it’s cold outside. Besides that, it’s super good for your body. No matter what kind of soup you enjoy, vegan soup or with broth, a warm cup of soup can help support your well-being in many ways. Here are the most significant reasons why soup is super healthy.
The Ultimate Warmer
A cup of hot soup is absolutely heartwarming! If you have a hard time coping with the chilly weather, your answer lies in the soup. According to nutritionists, warm soup can increase your body temperature to warm you from inside out.
Easy to Cook
Unlike many dishes, a bowl of warm soup is one of the few main entrées that allows you to throw the ingredients into a pot and walk away until it’s time to eat.
Furthermore, unlike other meals, soups preserve most of, if not all, of the minerals and vitamins of boiled vegetables because you don’t get rid of the water. To put it simply, every time you drink soup, you’re really drinking a vitamin-packed, savory, and delicious broth.
How to Make Japanese Clear Onion Soup?
If you’ve tried onion soups before, then you are no stranger to this flavorful classic. Clear onion soup is very light and usually made from a vegetable broth with a rich onion flavoring, freshly sliced scallions, and mushrooms. If it’s your first time trying it, you’re in for a treat. Get your aprons ready, and let’s get to it!
Ingredients
- 6 cups vegetable broth (chicken or beef)
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp ginger (minced)
- 1 cup button mushrooms (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup scallions (sliced)
- to taste salt and pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 onions (diced)
- 1 celery stalks (diced)
- 1 carrot (peeled and diced)
- Soy sauce (optional)
- Sriracha (optional)
Instructions
- First, Sauté the onions in a pan with a little bit of butter until slightly caramelized. Do that for about 5-10 minutes.
- Place a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the celery, carrot, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Pour in the broth. Season to taste with some salt and pepper.
- Bring to the boil and then stew for 25-30 minutes.
- Add a few of those scallions and sliced mushrooms to broth.
- Add a dash of soy sauce and sriracha to elevate your soup’s taste.
Nutrition
- Calories: 24
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Protein: 2g
- Fat: 1g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Sodium: 862mg
- Potassium: 262mg
- Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 1g
- Vitamin A: 83IU
- Vitamin C: 18mg
- Calcium: 20mg
- Iron: 1mg
Is Japanese Clear Soup Healthy?
Judging by the ingredients, you can answer that question for yourself. It is a pretty simple recipe. Not extremely nutritious but surprisingly light and low in calories. That makes it perfect as an appetizer to your dinner menu or an afternoon lunch if you’re trying to lose weight.
Low in Fat and High in Fiber
Unless you enjoy a cream-based soup, most soups are full of vegetables. All these elements are valued for their low-fat and high-fiber content, which makes soup a remarkably healthy option.
Easy to Refrigerate and Reheat
If you’re an avid leftover person, then you should know that soups transition fascinatingly well from the stovetop to the freezer and from the freezer to the microwave. Prepare a large bowl of hot soup one evening, and you can turn it into delicious dinner portions for the rest of the week.
Boosts Your Immune System
There’s a reason people drink soup when they’re sick. First, because hot soup can help increase our body temperature to help combat sickness. Second, according to the Mayo Clinic, certain soups also have anti-inflammatory properties, which can ease pains and mild illnesses.
Need More Soup Recipes?
For more delicious and healthy soup recipes, visit any of these links and get to cooking!
- Instant Pot Paleo Chicken Noodle Soup
- Shrimp Boil Soup
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana by BeautyAndTheBenchPress.com
- Greek Lemon Chicken Soup by ASpicyPerspective.com
Takeaway
In restaurants, Japanese clear onion soups are prepared many days in advance to allow the flavors to really seep in. That being said, it’s a great leftover; you can store for days at a time. If you have the time, prepare it ahead of time and then warm it before putting the mushrooms and scallions.
