Alternative:Miso Soup

| Soup | Cuisine of Japan

In traditional Japanese cuisine, miso soup is served for breakfast every day, and often served with meals as well.

miso soup

Variant One

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. of sesame oil
• 3 cups of water
• 2 tbl. of miso
• 2 green onions, finely minced (optional)
• 1/2 cake tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (optional)
• 2-3 fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)
• 5-6 shrimps, cubed or shredded (optional)
• Some pieces of seaweed (optional)

Procedure

1. Heat oil in the bottom of a small pot
2. Add green onion (if using)
3. Cook for a few minutes while stirring frequently
4. Add 2 1/2 cups of water
5. Bring to a boil
6. Dissolve miso in 1/2 cup of water and add to pot
7. Lower heat and add mushrooms, seaweed & tofu if desired

Enjoy!

Variant Two

Ingredients

• 90% to 94% dashi (consider using instant dashi mix)
• 6% to 10% miso. It can be aka(red) or shiro(white), or a combination.
• odds and ends for garnish

The garnish would typically be two to three items that contrast in color, flavor, buoyancy, shape, texture, etc. Wakame with tofu is a standard and popular combination, especially at restaurants. Some common items for garnish are:

• finely sliced and deep-fat fried tofu (Agedashi tofu)
• finely cubed raw (silky) tofu (recommended)
• wakame seaweed (recommended)
• konbu (kelp) seaweed, perhaps left over from making dashi
• spinach
• chopped scallion (recommended)
• grated daikon radish
• boiled and finely cubed potato
• clams (asari or shijimi)
• grated eggplant
• shrimp
• mushrooms

Procedure

1. Put dashi in a pot.
2. Add any garnish that needs cooking.
3. Heat the dashi, letting it simmer, cooking any garnish that needs cooking. Do not bring to a rolling boil, as this degrades the flavor.
4. Add any garnish that does not need cooking, and remove from heat.
5. Add the miso to the soup. Avoid boiling the miso; some nuances of the flavor will be lost.

Modern Variant

While certainly a traditional food, miso is also suited to modern interpretations. One non-traditional yet delicious way to make miso soup is as follows:

1. Heat frying oil in a small pot
2. Fry onions and cabbage in the oil over high heat until browned. A slight degree of burning is acceptable.
3. Proceed with the traditional method listed above.

Using oil leftover from frying bacon and caramelizing the sugars in the onion and cabbage through high heat, this method produces a soup notably different from the traditional variety, and can add new interest to a classic dish. A small quantity of freshly ground black pepper added just before serving rounds out this method very well.Miso Soup Recipes