Miso Soup (Japanese Miso Shiru)
Miso shiru is a Japanese soybean paste soup made by dissolving miso into a dashi broth brewed from kelp and bonito flakes, then simmering it with tofu and wakame. It pairs well with sushi or rice bowl dishes, and comes together easily from just a few basic ingredients — perfect for a comforting bowl of soup at any meal.
Ingredients
Main
- Dried seaweed (wakame)As needed
- TofuAs needed
Seasoning
- Miso paste2 tbsp
- Cooking rice wine2 tbsp
- Bonito flakesAs needed
- Kelp stock4 cups
Directions
- 1
Put cold water and kelp in a pot; once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, add bonito flakes, and steep for 5–10 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve to get the broth.
- 2
Cut the tofu into 1cm cubes, and soak the wakame in water until it softens.
- 3
Blanch the tofu briefly in boiling water. Blanch the wakame in salted water, rinse in cold water, and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- 4
Pour the strained broth into a pot. Just before it boils, add the cooking rice wine, then strain the miso paste through a sieve and dissolve it in.
- 5
Add the tofu and wakame to the miso broth, bring it to a quick boil, and turn off the heat right away to finish.
Tips
Boiling it too long makes the flavor dull, so turn off the heat as soon as it comes to a boil after adding the miso paste. Adding fried tofu pockets or enoki mushrooms makes it even tastier, and it pairs nicely with freshly cooked rice or a raw fish rice bowl.