Tim's Cookbook: Japanese Miso Soup

One of our favorite recipes that we cook quite often is a Miso Soup. It is a staple Japanese soup that is eaten often and is pretty easy to make. It is also tasty.

Miso Soup in a bowl

In Japan, when someone a man asks a woman to "cook me miso soup everyday" they could be making proposal.

Special things you need to buy are miso (usually a paste) and dashi.

There are many of kinds of miso paste such as white, light brown, and red.
Colors depend on the length of fermentation of soy beans.

The one that looks light brown is the most common. Try this type first.

Dashi is a dry soup base made of dried fish and seaweed.

Traditionally, Japanese make dashi from fish flakes and seaweed, but we use powder soup stock "Hondashi", because it is so easy and good for a busy cook.

These are the ingredients needed for two servings of simple Miso Soup:

2 cups Water
2/3 tsp Hondashi
1 small potato, slice in 1/4"
1/4 onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp dry seaweed (wakame)
Tofu 1/2 pack, cut into 1/2" cubes
Miso Paste 1 1/2 tbsp
1/2 Green onion, cut thinly

Here is a recipe for two servings of simple Miso Soup:

Add Hondashi in water and bring it to boil.
Add vegetables and boil until soft (10 min).
Stop heating and add tofu.
Dissolve miso paste well.
Sprinkle fresh green onion for garnish.

You can add anything else that you like: vegetables, mushrooms, fish, and any meat that you like.
Enjoy!

Here are some of the ingredients:

Hondashi: