Traditional Miso Soup
Authentic miso soup made from scratch with homemade dashi, kombu, bonito flakes, wakame, tofu, and barley miso. A nourishing Japanese staple ready in 40 minutes with real umami depth.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minReal miso soup starts with real dashi, and this recipe does it right.
Kombu seaweed and bonito flakes steep together to create that savory, oceanic broth that’s the backbone of Japanese cooking. From there, thin half-moons of onion, matchstick carrots, bok choy greens, and wakame flakes get a quick simmer before the barley miso is whisked in at the very end.
Cubes of fresh tofu float in the broth, and a scatter of chopped scallions on top finishes each bowl.
The beauty of miso soup is in its simplicity and its endless flexibility. Three vegetables, lightly cooked, in a broth that tastes like the sea.
Pro Tips
- Never boil miso. Dilute it in a little warm broth first, then stir it into the pot with the heat off. Boiling destroys the living cultures and mutes the flavor
- Cut vegetables thin so they cook in just minutes and keep their color and crunch
- Barley miso (mugi miso) has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor. White miso works too for an even milder soup
- Stick to the three-vegetable rule: pick three that give you a mix of colors and textures. Don’t overcrowd the bowl
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare Dashi: Combine water and kombu, bring to a boil.
Turn off heat.
Add bonito flakes, stir and cover.
Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, strain soup broth and discard bonito and kombu.
Add onion and carrots to broth, simmer 5 minutes.
Add wakame flakes and greens, simmer 1 to 2 minutes and then turn off heat.
Dilute Miso in ½ cup soup broth, add to soup.
Add tofu.
Garnish with scallions and serve.
Combinations for miso soup are endless.
Just remember, for best results use three vegetables in small amounts and only cook them slightly.
Pay attention to colors as well as complementary flavors.
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