Quick and Easy Recipe for Homemade Miso Soup
One of my favorite parts about going out to eat Japanese food is sizing up their miso soup. Miso soup is a great starter. At first you may think it is just a filler, but the small bowl of deliciousness is great for warming you up for what is to come. For a long time I wanted to make my own miso soup to see how it would come out. I naturally assumed it must be difficult because while the soup seems simple, it has complex flavors. Basically, I was intimidated. Then, I started watching the show You Are What You Eat. If you are not familiar with the series, Dr. Gillian McKeith gets people to change nasty eating habits and introduces new and better foods for a healthier and longer life. One recipe that always makes her clients cringe is making miso soup for breakfast. I always thought, “Wow, what a great way to start the day.” Dr. McKeith swore it was super easy to make, so I finally took the plunge. Luckily I already had some tofu in the fridge that I had no clue what to do with. I had seaweed in the house because I am addicted to Annie Chun’s Sesame Seaweed Snacks. And, I happened upon some miso in my local farmer’s market of all places. While I was at it, I bought some scallions too.
Clip from "You Are What You Eat"
Following is a simple and easy recipe for making miso soup. This recipe was included on the side of the miso container. But I did augment it right away and reduced the amount of ingredients to only make two servings. I was pleasantly surprised that with my first crack at it my miso soup tasted like what I get at the Japanese restaurants, and better in some cases. The only issue I had was it was saltier than I expected. So I had to dilute it some more with water at the end. I would suggest using a little less miso and taste test along the way. I guess the saltiness depends on the miso being used. The darker the miso, the stronger the taste. The lighter the miso, the sweeter and milder. My miso was labeled as “mild.” The recipe below takes less than 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 2 TBS miso paste
- 2 scallions
- 2-3 sheets seaweed
- Diced soft (silken) tofu
Directions:
1. Bring water to a boil in small pot.
2. Add in miso paste. (Reduce heat to medium-low.)
3. Stir until dissolved.
4. Cut scallions with scissors or chop with a knife and add to pot.
5. Add shredded seaweed to pot.
6. Add diced tofu to pot.
7. Turn off heat and serve.
One Way to Make Miso Soup
Additional Information
I only had firm tofu on hand when I first made this recipe. The tofu did not taste well, so definitely use soft (silken) tofu. When I made this recipe again, today, I had silken tofu and the texture is exactly what you get at the restaurant.
Many recipes call for the addition of dashi—a traditional Japanese soup base. But this is totally optional. I did not use it, and, like I said above, my soup tasted like the ones at many restaurants. All recipes call for wakame, but I used my flavored seaweed that I had on hand.
The amount of water above is enough for two servings. But the recipe can easily be doubled.
