Vegetable Miso Soup

A vegan soup with black-eyed peas, barley, mushrooms and red miso.

Every year James and I have an open house on New Year’s Day. It’s a great way for us to see people that we haven’t seen in a while. If our friends are in town, they’re usually not busy and stop by throughout the day. For New Years I always make black-eyed peas for good luck and share them with our friends. Cooking black-eyed peas is a southern tradition that is thought to bring good luck and prosperity in the new year. Everyone can use that!

This recipe is a delicious way to serve black-eyed peas, especially for those people who don’t eat pork, or are vegetarian. It makes A LOT of soup—one gallon. It’s easy to cut this recipe in half if you don’t plan on having 15 or 20 people over.

Cheers to the New Year, and lots of luck!

Vegetable Miso Soup

A vegan soup with black-eyed peas, barley, mushrooms and red miso.

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Asian fusion

Servings 1 gallon

Equipment

• 1 small pot to cook the barley in
• 1 medium pot to cook the black-eyed peas
• 1 Large pot (to hold a gallon) to make the soup
• 1 knife and cutting board
• 1 or 2 measuring cups and spoons I use a 4 cup and a 2 cup

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup barley
• 2 cups black-eyed peas
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil
• 7 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups onions, chopped
• 2 TBLS. fresh ginger root, sliced across the grain and minced
• 2 cups celery, diced You can used the leaves
• 2 lbs. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 quart vegetable broth or water
• 1/2 lb. carrots, cut in small strips (julienned, 1 inch)
• 1/2 cup aji mirin or Chinese cooking wine
• 2 TBLS sherry
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teas. black pepper
• 8 oz. red miso

Instructions

 

• Cook 1 cup of barley in 4 cups of water for 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes, to see if it's tender, don't overcook. It will be mushy.

  Set aside.
• Boil 2 cups of black-eyed peas in 8 cups of water for 35 to 45 minutes. Check after 35 minutes to see if they are tender. Don't over cook or they will fall apart.

  Set aside.
• Meanwhile, chop the garlic, onions, ginger and celery and sauté in 1/4 cup of oil in your largest pot, on medium, until the vegetables are soft (15 to 20 minutes). If it starts to brown, put a little water in and put the lid on for a few minutes.
• Add the mushrooms. Stir them in with the other vegetables and cook until they start to give off moisture (they will shrink down to about half the volume).
• Add the quart of water or veg broth, the carrots, aji mirin, sherry, vinegar, soy sauce and black pepper. Bring to a boil.

  Add the barley and black-eyed peas with the water they were cooked in.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the miso, and 1 or 2 more cups of water (it depends on how thick you want your soup). Stir everything together and serve. Do not let the soup boil again. You can reheat it as necessary.

Keyword barley, black-eyed peas, Miso, mushrooms