I’m all for a quick soup meal that’s easy, healthy, and nourishing. This Japanese Glass Noodle Soup called Harusame Soup (春雨スープ) is a perfect recipe that will keep you belly warm and satisfied. It uses simple, everyday ingredients such as egg and tofu, as well as pantry ingredients like chicken broth/stock, dried cellophane noodles, and dried wakame seaweed. You can make the soup vegetarian-friendly with vegetable stock or kombu dashi.
What is Japanese Glass Noodle Soup
Called Harusame Soup (春雨スープ) in Japan, this Japanese glass noodle soup is made of some kind of stock (chicken, vegetable, or dashi), harusame (cellophane noodles), a simple protein, and vegetables. Typically, fluffy eggs, tofu, and wakame seaweed are included in the quick soup because they are everyday ingredients in a Japanese kitchen, but you can make so many variations of it. I’ve shared a kimchi and pork version in the past. Harusame or cellophane noodles are called “glass noodles” in English as they become translucent when they are cooked. These glass noodles are made of mung bean starch, so they are gluten-free. We often use harusame noodles to make Harusame Salad or as part of the filling for Harumaki (Japanese spring rolls). One thing to note: Harusame Soup is a soup-forward dish, with a small portion of glass noodles in it. Its English name—Japanese Glass Noodle Soup—made it sound like a noodle dish like Udon Noodle Soup, but it’s not. You can always add more glass noodles if you want to make it into a hearty noodle dish.
How to Make Harusame Soup
Ingredients You’ll Need
Dried glass/cellophane noodles made of mung bean starch; or Japanese harusame or Korean dangmyeon made of sweet potato starch Stock (chicken or vegetable) Tofu Eggs Wakame seaweed Green onions Sesame seeds Seasonings: sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, white pepper powder, black pepper
Overview: Cooking Steps
3 Important Cooking Tips
Can I use other kind of noodles?
Sure! If you’re using wheat noodles, you will need to cook the noodles in a separate pot of boiling water. Wheat noodles release starches while cooking, and you don’t want to cloud your clear soup. The closest substitution would be the Chinese glass/cellophane noodles, or fěnsī (粉絲). They are slightly thinner than Japanese harusame. You can use the Korean varieties (dangmyeon) but they are made with sweet potato starch and on the thicker side.
What other vegetables can I use?
I’ll keep it simple, but thinly sliced carrot, spinach, shiitake mushrooms are great!
Can I add meat?
Of course! This recipe is very flexible. Cook the meat first until it is no longer pink, and then add the white part of the green onions.
Do we need to use white pepper powder?
In Asian cooking, white pepper is often used as it is said to have a more complex flavor profile. I like the smell and flavor of the white pepper used in Japanese-style Chinese dishes (Chuka Ryori). White pepper is made from fully ripe pepper berries. They are soaked in water for about 10 days, leading to fermentation, and then their skins are removed. As a result, white pepper has a different flavor and heat component than black pepper. You can certainly substitute black pepper for white pepper, noting that the black specks will show. Start with less black pepper than the white pepper called for and adjust the flavor as you go.
What Main Dishes to Serve with Harusame Soup
The glass noodle soup is wonderful on its own as a light low-calorie meal. To make it a more rounded meal, you can serve it with:
Chukadon (Chinese-Style Rice Bowl) Beef and Green Pepper Stir-Fry (Chinjao Rosu) Fried Chicken with Scallion Soy Sauce (Yurinchi) Twice Cooked Pork (Hoi Ko Ro) Mapo Eggplant Gyoza or Vegetable Gyoza Pork Shumai (Steamed Pork Dumplings)
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