Today's recipe is one that I have been dreaming of conquering for months. Fellow foodies will recognise THE feeling. It grabs hold of your consciousness, captivates your mind. It completely consumes you, and you must know the history, the how, and the why. This is exactly what happened to me. Three rabbitholes and eighty Youtube videos later, I was feeling educated and confident. I was ready to make traditional Japanese Miso Soup.
Why Miso Soup, you may ask? Well, for the longest time, I have been completely and utterly obsessed with Asian food. I have learnt the more common place stir-frys, such as Oyster sauce based dishes and Sweet 'n' Sour Pork/Chicken, to the more complicated Japanese Tamagoyaki (a sweet egg roll) and I have even ventured into making my own hand - rolled sushi. I was ready for more traditional fare!
In today's article, I will guide you through the how-to of Miso Soup. I will also give you a few tips, as this is not an ordinary recipe.
Armed with my surprisingly short list of ingredients, I headed to a supermarket I knew carried Asian ingredients. Unfortunately, they did not have everything, and so I drove to an Asian supermarket nearby.
TIP ONE:
Find an Asian supermarket to purchase your ingredients. They will definitely have all the ingredients you need, and most probably be half the price of regular stores. The supermarket I went to was run by the sweetest Chinese couple, who advised me on ingredients and helped me out a lot.
Since the ingredients are not so common place, I have broken down the ingredient list and will explain every ingredient used, and why it is important. So let's get started on making Miso Soup!
MISO SOUP:
Makes two main servings, or four starter portions
Prep Time: Ten minutes
Cooking Time: Five minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 cups of water
- 4 tsp dashi granules
- 4 Tblsp red miso paste
- 2 Tblsp wakame
- 200gr tofu
- 2 spring onions, finely chopped
- handful dried shitake mushrooms
- 200g package udon noodles
Dashi Granules
Traditionally the broth for Miso soup is made with dried kombu (a type of seaweed) and bonito flakes (flaked, dried tuna), but I couldn't find kombu, so I used Dashi granules, which is basically fish stock. This is quite a commonly used substitute, as most people don't like to make their own stock - using dashi is much quicker and easier.
Miso Paste
Miso paste comes in two versions, red, or white. Basically, miso paste is a paste of fermented soy beans, and the darker it is, the longer it has been fermented. The darker paste tends to have a stronger flavour. While this may sound quite yuck, I can assure you that it adds an amazing salty, malted flavour.
Wakame
Wakame is my favourite ingredient in Miso soup, and I just love the texture. Wakame is dried seaweed, and once soaked in water, triples in size.
Tofu
Another fermented bean product, tofu is made from curdling soy milk. Tofu = bean curd. Again, while this may not sound very appetising, tofu adds a lovely soft texture to the soup, and is a great source of protein.
Shitake Mushrooms
While not uncommon in Asian recipes, shitake mushrooms are not an every day food. They are known for their healing properties, and have many vitamins loaded into their tiny bodies.
TIP TWO
I prefer to use dried shitake mushrooms, as I don't use them every day. That way there will be no waste, and I will have loads of mushrooms for future use.
METHOD:
Now that we have an understanding of each ingredient, let's get cooking! I bet you will be surprised as to how easy it is to make the soup. I love this warming, healthy soup, and have made it three times in the last two weeks.
Place the wakame and mushrooms into two small separate bowls, and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak. Chop the spring onions finely, and cube the tofu.
Bring the four cups of water to the boil, and then add the dashi powder. It's important that the water is completely boiled, as it won't dissolve properly if it's not. Add the miso paste, spoonful by spoonful, and stir it in until completely dissolved. Once all the paste is dissolved, leave to boil for a further minute. If using noodles, you can boil them in the broth for two minutes.
While the noodles are boiling, you can assemble your serving bowls, as per my instructions below.
You are done! I love how easy and simple this recipe is, once you have the ingredients. I have also been reading all kinds of variations on the soup, from adding shredded pork belly, to shaved potatoes. The hardest past is sourcing the ingredients!
Make miso soup as a lovely warming winter dinner, or as a quick 'n' easy light lunch. I have eaten Miso soup every day this week for lunch, and think it makes for a really healthy, filling work lunch. It's winter here, so it's fantastic to have something warm to eat, while not having to worry about the extra calories a traditional soup may have.
I hope you have enjoyed my recipe, and I would love to hear if you have made it, or if you have any variations. If you have a recipe suggestion, please let me know in the comments. Til next time, lots of love!
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it looks so great, I would like to try it
I’m a huge soup lover and Japanese or Chinese soups are one of my favorites. Recently I made egg Chinese soup. It’s sooo easy and sooo good. All ingredients are very easy for me to get since we have an Asian supermarket where I live. I like that tofu is used instead of meat. I’ve always been curious about tofu as alternative to meat since I have two days per week meatless. Your recipe presentation is great as always.
thank you so much. You always leave the BEST comments.
I personally LOVE tofu, but I think it is an acquired taste. In the soup it adds a very soft, delicate texture. I did read that, as a source of protein, it is super, but also read some blogs saying that because it is made from from soy beans, it is not the best source, as some people believe soy is bad for you.
I definitely urge you to make it, I was surprised at how exceptionally easy it was.
@princessmewmew it seems like you are a real expert in making food. you seems to be foodie lover. i loves to eat food of different places.
I would not say expert, but definitely enthusiast :)
I never had one of those, but it does look delicious.
Mushrooms in general are quite healthy, yet I eat them very rarely because I just don't like the taste. Which is a shame, really.
this mushroom has a very strong taste, nothing like normal mushrooms! I suspect you would not like it if you do not like mushrooms, teehee!
I would be willing to give it a try. A lot of ingredients do not taste good by themselves, but proper combination can make even the worst tasting things shine.
A really catching one from Japanese, today I got explored to their natural food. The preparations ain't hard to study as well. Great knowledge again from this educating post.
thank you very much for your great comment! Steem on x
You're welcome in one million ways.
love it, mmmmmmmy mouth is watering !
thanks darling!
Looks delicious. love it.
Love the Japanese Miso soup and the little tweaks each restaurant tends to put on theirs. I also love my local Asian supermarket full of flavorful choices.
I am Japanese. I am drinking miso soup every day.
Japanese miso soup is very healthy.
You are using good materials as well.
It looks very delicious.
ah thank you! Does my soup look like your soup? I am so curious about Japanese food, I am really trying hard to learn lots of the recipes.
Udon is more delicious when boiled for a long time.(^^)v
Alright, I am sold!
My culinary skills range from bad to non-existent but I am going to give this one a try. I am not saying that I will be able to make it but I am willing to try. Maybe it would be edible or maybe it won't.
The thing is that it looks so delicious on picture that I can't help myself but want to eat it. If I am able to pull it off, this can go down as a food in my culinary arsenal. It looks so good that I can almost taste it. I can only imagine the real thing made by you ............... just watching it is kind of a treat :-)
hehe, I am sure you can do it! It was sooo super easy! Just get all the ingredients first, that's the first hurdle.
I am sure you can pull it off! Let me know when you make it.
I love miso soup and sushi! ❤
me tooo! Total sushi addict over here. raises hand
I'm sorry but it's Korean Doenjang(Soybean Paste).
Miso(Japanese) and Doenjang(Korean) very similar but different taste.
ah ok, thank you very much! I don't read Korean or Japanese, so I just bought what the man in the shop recommended!
Oh Princess! only the photos of this dish made me hungry. It looks so tasty and full of natural flavor of tofu, soy-sauce and other ingredients. It must be very nutritious and good for health as traditional Japanese food is considered full of anti-oxidants and other useful ingredients which increase life expectancy. Nice post with beautiful pictures.
Your post made me hungry.
ah, thank you very much. Those are some lovely words. It is indeed super nutritious and good for you
Welcome princess!
This looks cool... I must try this :)
Is it very hot ?
hot, as in spicy? Not at all - the flavour is more earthy, slight, slight fishy taste, with lots of delicious seaweed and tofu.
Cool... then I must have it :)
Tasty, delicious and likely better for you than what I'm eating right now. The beautiful pictures make me want to gobble it up! @adsactly did you make enough Miso Soup for EVERYONE? :)
source
hehehe, just enough for a small village!
It look tasty! Thanks for the recipe I'm gonna try!
thank you! That's great! Let me know how it goes for you.
one of the healthiest soup, that's why japanese the longest people in the world. Fermented miso paste is very healthy.
agreed! It is super healthy, and oh so tasty!
thanks
Love japanese food, looks so healthy and delicious
me toooo! It is totally healthy and UBER delicious!
ahan miso soup is a delicious and wonderful recipe thanks for share with us i made this for my tummy thank you so much
looks tasty
upvote for upvote
Hello @adsactly Sir...No matter what the water can be on the water...Water is life! If we do not play water, we can not survive. In this hot time, the doctors said that they drink water more often. Many people say that at least eight to ten glasses of water should be eaten on the day. Many people say a little warm water and there is better water for lemon.
Water is eaten in a special way in Japan. Tell him Japanese water therapy. People in Japan believe that water will help in reducing the weight of the body as well as on one side of the body....
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Great recipe!
This is tasty and nutrious food ...
This is my favorite soup..
I like this food very much..
I appreciate this post..
All the best..👍👍👍
yummy i want eat them right now i can't wait very soon i will try this very its very easy.. you upload this recipe thank you
pleasure, glad you enjoyed!
so sweet of you
it looks very nice, you want to share. it's a very tasty traditional artificial..🍲
it seems nice and way too easy.
there is no harm if I try to make.
It seems nice and way
Too easy. there is no harm
If I try to make.
- ikmar
I'm a bot. I detect haiku.
@adsactly i love soup. i will try it at home and whenever i will visit Japan i will surely taste it.
I would love to cook it! I am a new person cooking asian stuff, but I think it might be interesting to learn and surprise my family!
yes, definitely! I am sure they will love it.
.
YUMMY, I love Miso soup. You did an amazing job with the post, the photos, and the recipe. Simply incredible!
looks delicious
"Sound" and looks great to me :-) @adsactly
Bon appetit along with your Family
Hope you all have a great time
Regards @adsactly
it looks so great
amazing post
Japanese food healthy, I like most.............
Looks good to see the food. If I could eat all the food?
Damnit, I LOVE miso soup! Favorite soup of all time, no question