Miso Broth In a sauce pan, saute 1/2 cup chopped onion and 4 cloves minced garlic in 2 tbsp. vegetable oil. Add 4 cups water. Stir in vegetable broth powder. Add ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil,cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper (to taste.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Rice In a large saute pan, saute the remaining garlic and onion in remaining vegetable oil. Cook until onion is translucent. Add broccolli and stir fry until bright green. Add rice and salt and pepper (to taste). Stir rice in pan until it becomes opaque (3 minutes). Add 2 cups of water and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until almost all water has been absorbed (15-20 min.). Add peas and cook until heated through and all water has been absorbed.
Remove one cup of broth from sauce pan and pour into a bowl. Stir in 2 tbsp. miso paste, then add back to broth in the sauce pan. Stir until well blended.
To serve--Divide rice into 2 large soup bowls. Pour miso broth over rice. Can be eaten as is or stirred together into a delicious rice soup. Very filling and warming on cold winter nights--especially when payday is a week away and you can't afford these flavors in a restaurant. This is a quick combination of favorite Japanese flavors. Feel free to add seasonings and vegetables of choice. I didn't have tofu when I made this, but it would be a most natural and welcome addition. Please try this recipe and let me know what things you added to personalize this simple soup.