Kimchi and Miso Noodle Soup

I make kimchi purely so that I can make this soup. It is clean-tasting and enlivening, nicely sharp with spice and the mellow, vinegary punch of the kimchi. I don't care much for kimchi on its own (my husband, John, eats it by the jar), but I do think that it is an incredible ingredient to use as a flavorful base for stews, in dressings, and in wraps and sandwiches. The amount of kimchi that you use is quite dependent on how strong it is. My homemade one is quite mellow but store-bought ones can be much more potent, so taste it first and use you tastebuds as a guide, adding more if you need.

I cook with miso a lot, and it happens to be really good for you too. I learned recently that if you heat it too much it loses a lot of its goodness, so now, when I can, I mix it with a little of the liquid i am adding it to, then stir it in at the end like a seasoning and don't cook it for ages.

I have used gochujang paste here, which is a fermented chile paste from Korea with complex flavors. It's getting easier to find and it does add an extra edge to the soup. If you can't get the paste, dried chile works just fine. Do be careful to check the paste's ingredient list, as some varieties contain ingredients I'd rather not eat!