Miso Soup

Miso soup is a staple food in Japan. It is often eaten as part of breakfast as well during the day for lunch and sometimes with dinner. Typically it is served in lacquered bowls and it is drunk directly from the bowls, the solid ingredients are eaten with chopsticks.

INGREDIENTS

4  cups dashi stock or shrimp stock/vegetarian stock
2  tbs miso paste, white or red (paste from fermented soybeans, rice and barley)
½ tsp Japanese soy sauce
2  oz firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes
2  tbsp dried wakame seaweed (type of seaweed)
3  green onions, sliced in half lengthwise and then into 2 inch slices

 

Bring the stock to boil.

Ladle out half a cup of hot broth into small bowl. Once the broth cools slightly incorporate into it miso paste, and soy sauce. Cooking miso changes its flavour as well as its rich nutritional value hence most cooks don't allow miso to be boiled.

To the stock, add tofu and and wakame seaweed, simmer for 1 minute and take it of the heat. Stir in miso mixture and green onions, and serve.

TIP DU JOUR:
Dashi stock. You may find in your local oriental market an instant (powder) dashi stock.

Dashi is a fundamental stock in Japanese cuisine. It is typically made from kelp and bonito flakes (flakes of dried skipjack tuna). If you can’t find dashi stock use shrimp/fish stock or substitute with shiitake or vegetable stock.