I found green tea noodles the other day and wanted to immediately try them. Green and slender, they not only looked pretty in the package, but I imagined that they would look very appetizing cooked. And I was right. The pale green of the cooked noodles makes for a striking and unique-looking dish. Unlike many noodles made with products other than flour, you can actually taste the green tea in these. It’s sutble, but eaten without other ingredients to mask it, it’s definitely there. While it’s not the best way to cosume green tea, it is another way to benefit, even if just a little, from green tea’s antitoxin properties.Another ingredient in this dish is ume vinegar is a Japanese vinegar made from umeboshi plums. Umeboshi are pickled and are considered an amazing preventative and curative for various ailments, including fatigue and digestive issues, and eliminates toxins from the body. Ume vinegar gives the soup a sweet-sour fruity note. If you can’t find ume vinegar, simply omit it—you don’t have to substitute anything.

Enjoy!

Green Tea Noodle Soup

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

2 bunches scallions, sliced (white and light green; dark set aside)
2 teaspoons oil
1 cup finely diced carrot 10 oz. green tea noodles
2 cups shredded cabbage
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 cups vegetable broth
8 oz. green beans, chopped
1 ½ cups shelled edamame
10 oz. green tea noodles
1 teaspoon ume vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari, shoyu, or soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Slice the white and light green parts of the scallions and set aside in a small bowl. Slice the dark part of the scallions and set aside in another small bowl.

In a medium-large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the white/light green scallions and sauté until softened, 1 to 2 minutes.Add the carrot, cabbage, and salt, and sauté until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the string beans and edamame. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.Add the noodles and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the shoyu and sesame oil.Divide the soup among serving bowls and sprinkle green scallion over the top. Serve hot. If you like your soup with more liquid, add more broth or less noodles.