By: Raine Baljak
Recipes, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Miso Soup

When living in Japan, miso soup is a household staple and many variations to the ingredients list exists. At its most basic, miso is a fermented paste made by inoculating a mixture of soybeans with a mold called koji (the common name for Aspergillus oryzae) that’s been cultivated from rice, barley, or soybeans. This soup is rich in protein for your muscle gains and something you can easily enjoy all-year but especially during the winter seasons.

For those with sensitive skin conditions (like eczema, psoriasis or atopic dermatitis skin conditions), then this hearty soup is something you will be able to enjoy due to its benefits for the skin. If you opt to not use the dashi, then it becomes safe for vegetarians.

After you cook this soup, please consume it within 24 hours because after that, the soup will go bad. The preparation of ingredients takes me under 10 minutes, and the cook time takes about 20 minutes. It’s a super simple, and rich-flavoured soup!

Ingredients

  • Dashi
  • Miso Pase
  • Tofu
  • Maitake Mushroom
  • Enoki Mushroom
  • Japanese Leek

Preparation

Prepare all the ingredients into their respective sizes so that they cook evenly.

  • The Japanese leek is sliced horizontally.
  • The tofu is sliced into cubes.
  • The Maitake mushroom is pulled apart.
  • The Enoki mushroom has its roots sliced off and later will be pulled apart.

Method

The first step is to pour the dashi into a pot of 1.5 liters of water and allow this to come to a boil.

Once the water is boiling, as shown in the images, then add the Japanese leek first.

Once the leek begins to softed, which is about 3-5mins after it is placed into boiling water, then you may add the maitake mushroom. Followed by the enoki mushroom. Remember to pull apart the enoki mushroom before placed into the pot.

Once the mushroom begins to soften, then add the tofu into the pot and bring everything to a boil.

Followed by the the miso paste. Use a large ladle to mix water with the miso into the pot. The portion of miso is up to your taste preference. I like to use 3 large ladle scoops because I like the rich miso flavour. Let me know how many scoops you used in the comments below!