Turmeric Ginger Yuba Noodles Soup
Creamy, salty, and a little spicy, this turmeric and ginger broth is the perfect medium for yuba noodles (tofu skin) and baby bok choy. Made rich and creamy with coconut milk, this soup is the kind of comfort food that leaves you feeling warm, loved, and nourished.
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What is Yuba?
Yuba is a biproduct of making soymilk, and is also sometimes called tofu skin. It is a staple in Chinese and Japanese cooking. Yuba was used in some of the first meat alternatives by Buddhist monks about a thousand years ago. Essentially it is tofu, but unlike larger blocks yuba is a thin sheet, dense and a bit rubbery. Yuba is a sheet of coagulated proteins that form on the surface of soymilk when it is cooked. It is scooped off the top, and then sold either fresh, frozen, or dried. Fresh yuba, which I have not yet tried, is said to be softer with a delicate flavor similar to a farmers cheese. The frozen and dried yuba have a more mild flavor, but an interesting, bouncy texture. It can be used in dim sum dishes, for dipping in hot pot, used in making meat alternatives, or as a gluten-free yuba noodles option. Yuba from Japan tends to come in thinner sheets that will almost turn into shreds in this soup. Yuba from China tends to be thicker, and will keep more of a noodle form. I’ve tried both and can attest they both are great in this recipe.
Look for yuba in the frozen section of your local Asian grocery store. You may also come across it dried- I’m sure it would be delicious but I haven’t done the recipe testing to give good instruction on how to use dried yuba in this recipe. Yuba is made with soybeans which makes it a great source of protein, containing about 50 grams of protein per 100 grams. It is low in carbs, high in fiber, and contains very little sodium. Tofu skin also is a power house of vitamin B1, B6, folate, vitamin K, calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and magnesium and smaller amounts of other vitamins and minerals.
Here are a few recipes from other recipe developers using yuba
- Yuba Katsu – Okonomi Kitchen
- The Best and Easy Tofu Skin Roll (Yuba) 腐皮卷 – WoonHeng
- Vegan Chinese Tomato & “Egg” Stir-Fry – The Foodie Takes Flight
- Israeli Shawarma with Yuba, Tofu and Mushrooms – Food and Story
- How to Make Homemade Vegan Bacon – Veggiekins Blog
Looking for Bok Choy Recipes? Try one of these!
Looking for Recipes featuring Ginger? Try one of these!
- Ginger Lemon Echinacea Get Well Tea in a Jar
- Ginger Walnut Lettuce Cups with Persimmons
- Super Refreshing Ginger Maple Pineapple Seltzer
- Ginger Thumbprint Pawpaw Cookies (Vegan)
- Easy Kumquat Marmalade Recipe with Ginger
- Molasses, Ginger and Oat Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Stout, Pecan and Ginger Bread (Vegan)
Cooking with Turmeric? Try one of these!
- Golden Relish- Fresh Turmeric Recipe
- Golden Milk Turmeric Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Cold Weather Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash and Turmeric
- Vegan Lemon Scones with Lemon Turmeric Glaze
Searching for Brothy Soups? Try out these!
- Caramelized Vegetarian Cabbage Soup
- Watercress Soup with Tofu and Vegan Broth
- Rhubarb Vegan Hot and Sour Soup
- Baby Bok Choy Christmas Lima Bean Soup
- Lentil and Nettle Soup
- Cold Weather Cabbage Soup with Butternut Squash and Turmeric
- Lentil, Chestnut Mushrooms and Amaranth Winter Soup
- Light and Brothy Vegan Corn Soup
- Stinging Nettle Vegan Green Minestrone
How to Make Ginger Turmeric Yuba Noodles Soup
Soups are inherently simple to make, but if you ask me the trick to making a good soup happens at the beginning when you just start adding things to the pot. It happens when you add the ingredients in layers, and give them a little time to cook in hot oil. They release their flavors, and that oil in the pot captures them one by one in a dynamic composition of tastiness. Those flavors will later disperse in your broth, and (speaking as a broth type of girl) that is where the deliciousness of soup comes from. This soup gets those flavors from shallots, fennel, garlic, chili flakes, turmeric, and ginger. After sautéing them together, we add our yuba noodles (which are just sheets of yuba cut into long, thin strips). Toss those yuba noodles around in the oil, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast, and now you’ve reached the time to turn it into soup. We just used water as the liquid (that’s all you need), but if you have it and would rather you can also add a vegetable stock. Bring the soup to a simmer for at least 10 minutes, but longer is also totally excellent. A longer simmer time will result in a richer broth. The last bit of cooking is to add the baby bok choy, along with scallions and cook until the bok choy is softened. Turn off the heat, and add a little lime juice, salt, and pepper to finish it off. This recipe tastes amazing with a little chili sauce added in (of you like spicy foods). It also is great for leftovers, since the flavors continue to develop and strengthen over time.
Turmeric Ginger Yuba Noodles Soup
Ingredients
- Neutral flavored oil, for cooking
- 1 1/2 oz. fresh ginger (about 4-5 inch piece)
- 2 small shallots
- 1/2 fennel bulb
- 3-5 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
- 2 tsp. dried turmeric
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce
- 6 oz. frozen yuba sheets (about 2 sheets), defrosted
- 1 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 13.5 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 medium-sized scallions
- 1/2-1 lb. baby Bok choy
- 1 lime
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Prep your vegetables. Peel the ginger and cut into matchstick-sized pieces. Slice the shallots into thin half moons. Remove the core from the fennel, and cut the remaining bulb into thin half moons. Mince the garlic. Cut the yuba into long, thin, strips. Finely chop the scallions. You can leave the baby bok choy whole if they're small enough, or cut in half if larger.
- Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a large pot. Once hot, add the shallots and fennel. Cook, stirring to prevent burning, until the shallots have softened. Add the chili flakes, turmeric, garlic, and ginger, and cook for another minute or two. Next add the soy sauce, yuba, and nutritional yeast. Stir to coat the yuba in the other ingredients, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add 6 cups of water to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for at 10-20 minutes at a low simmer. Next add the coconut milk, scallions, and baby Bok choy. Simmer with the lid off until your baby bok choy is nicely cooked and softened. Turn off the heat and add the juice of your lime, before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
This soup tastes even better when the flavors have melded together more, so it's an excellent option for leftovers the next day.
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