Miso Soup

Earlier I wrote about wanting to make my own ramen, which means I had to start with making dashi, a Japanese seafood stock. Once I'd made that, it was just a little bit more to make miso soup so I decided to try my hand at that too.

Like plenty of Japanese cooking, this isn't about using a lot of ingredients, it's about making the most from a few. It's about balance. In miso soup, you are balancing savory with salty and smooth with crunchy.

Serves: 1
Cook time: 10 min

Ingredients:

2 cups dashi
1.5 tbsp white miso
½ tbsp red miso
1 scallion
3 oz firm silken tofu

Directions:

Bring your dashi to a simmer and pour ¼ cup into a bowl. Add the red and white miso into the same bowl and stir well until all lumps are gone. Pour the miso mixture back into the rest of the dashi and heat on low to keep warm.

Cut your scallions into small slices and your tofu into small cubes and place in the bottom of your soup bowl, mug, or bucket. Pour the hot broth in and let sit for a minute to allow the tofu to warm up before enjoying with some sake or green tea!

Please note: the combination of miso flavors is up to you. White miso is lighter in color and flavor but has good body and mild sweetness. Red miso is much more flavorful, but too much will have your soup tasting like soy sauce. This 3:1 ratio is my preferred ratio, but feel free to experiment to find what you like.