The fastest lunch idea ever is the good old cup-a-soup. The reason I make my own is not only does it cost less, but I know what’s going into it. I am a fed up with the endless list of ingredients, fillers and E numbers that you can find in some of them.
Due to the simplicity of this dish, it totally qualified to be on my quick and simple lunch idea list found in “Never buy lunch again, make it yourself with these great ideas”.
I bought some Tupperware containers resembling a cup size, but also sometimes take it in my porridge container for a more filling lunch or when I want more noodles and perhaps some added veggies. I prepare a couple ahead and keep them in the fridge at work.
Ingredients make 1:
- 1 tsp Miso paste
- ½ packet Dashi soup mix
- 1 spring onion
- 1 fresh or dried Birdseye chili
- 80 gr tofu, smoked or regular
- Vermicelli rice noodles
- ½ tsp dried seaweed
- 1 dash fish sauce
- 1tbs coriander, chopped
So the only thing that might be unusual in this is the Dashi, which is just a Japanese version of soup stock powder. Mine is bonito fish flavoured. It is not fishy at all but adds flavour to your cup-a-soup.
Best place to find them is in a Japanese food shop, same goes for the dried seaweed. You can also cut a sushi algae sheet, which is available in high street supermarkets, if you have troubles finding it elsewhere.
Firstly you will need to break the vermicelli into small pieces so they fit in your cup. I would suggest putting the desired amount in a Ziploc bag, take a rolling pin and bash them but make sure it is opened a gap so the air can escape. I, of course didn’t think about it and bashed them in their thin packaging, causing a little explosion with little noodle bits everywhere. If you take them out and try to break them up, they might also go all over. Well it is called trial and error for a reason.
All you have to do after is cube the tofu, finely chop the spring onion and chili.
I stack the cup with noodles, then Miso and then the rest. If I make a bigger container I add some of the stir fry veggie pack to give a bit more oomph. The veggies will soften a bit but still leave a crunch.
Now all you have to do is add boiling water and let it stand for about 5 minutes. You can keep it for a couple days in the fridge without a problem and I hope you enjoy!
Foodwizardry 