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lastcraving So, I suppose it's inevitable that I finally post this recipe, since it was the first thing I learned on my own to cook. This is the recipe I learned to cook it with, but the wonderful thing about miso soup is that it is imminently variable: almost anything used in Japanese cooking can be put into it.
Ingredients:
Reserve miso in a bowl or large cup. Miso must NOT be boiled.
Put bonito flakes in large pot and add water. Stir to mix then turn on high heat. As it approaches boil, add tofu.
Once the soup reaches a boil, scoop some of the liquid out into the miso and mix into a fine paste. While mixing, add wakame seaweed. Remove the pot from heat and add miso, stirring well to mix. Top with green onions and serve hot.
Can be substituted:
Akai miso (red miso) can be subsituted for shiro miso (white miso) if you prefer a saltier soup.
If you do not have access to instant dashi, the traditional method of making miso is to take 1 piece of dried kombu, 2-3 packets of dried bonito flakes, and 5 cups of cold water. Put the water on to boil, add the kombu, and heat, skimming any scum off the surface. Right before it boils, remove the kombu. Raise the pan till boiling stops, lower it back to the stove, and just as the water starts to boil again, toss in the bonito flakes. Bring to a full boil then remove from heat. Allow flakes to settle then strain through a piece of muslin, reserving the liquid. This is your dashi base, which can be frozen quite nicely.
A simpler substitution if you don't have access to instant dashi, bonito flakes, kombu, or any of the myriad other ways of making dashi, is to use a thin chicken or vegetable broth. It won't have exactly the same flavor, but the miso itself is the main flavor of the soup.
If you don't have access to wakame seaweed (which I don't anymore), spinach sliced into thin strips makes a great substitution. If you use spinach instead of seaweed, add it at the same time as the tofu. It is a little more sturdy than wakame and won't be hurt by boiling.
Can be added:
Carrots and/or shiitake mushrooms cut into thin strips or slices can be added. I've seen fish added as well. If pork is added, it becomes tonjiru, pork soup. The majority of the time, though, the ingredients I use are what's usually all that's in the soup.
A cultural note:
In Japan, you drink soup, not eat it.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 Tbsp instant dashi
- 3 cups water
- 1 long section wakame seaweed, sliced into tiny bites
- 1 12-oz block tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 to 2 Tbsp shiro miso (white miso), or to taste
- 1 Tbsp green onions/scallions, finely chopped
Reserve miso in a bowl or large cup. Miso must NOT be boiled.
Put bonito flakes in large pot and add water. Stir to mix then turn on high heat. As it approaches boil, add tofu.
Once the soup reaches a boil, scoop some of the liquid out into the miso and mix into a fine paste. While mixing, add wakame seaweed. Remove the pot from heat and add miso, stirring well to mix. Top with green onions and serve hot.
Can be substituted:
Akai miso (red miso) can be subsituted for shiro miso (white miso) if you prefer a saltier soup.
If you do not have access to instant dashi, the traditional method of making miso is to take 1 piece of dried kombu, 2-3 packets of dried bonito flakes, and 5 cups of cold water. Put the water on to boil, add the kombu, and heat, skimming any scum off the surface. Right before it boils, remove the kombu. Raise the pan till boiling stops, lower it back to the stove, and just as the water starts to boil again, toss in the bonito flakes. Bring to a full boil then remove from heat. Allow flakes to settle then strain through a piece of muslin, reserving the liquid. This is your dashi base, which can be frozen quite nicely.
A simpler substitution if you don't have access to instant dashi, bonito flakes, kombu, or any of the myriad other ways of making dashi, is to use a thin chicken or vegetable broth. It won't have exactly the same flavor, but the miso itself is the main flavor of the soup.
If you don't have access to wakame seaweed (which I don't anymore), spinach sliced into thin strips makes a great substitution. If you use spinach instead of seaweed, add it at the same time as the tofu. It is a little more sturdy than wakame and won't be hurt by boiling.
Can be added:
Carrots and/or shiitake mushrooms cut into thin strips or slices can be added. I've seen fish added as well. If pork is added, it becomes tonjiru, pork soup. The majority of the time, though, the ingredients I use are what's usually all that's in the soup.
A cultural note:
In Japan, you drink soup, not eat it.
