Simple 10-Minute Miso Soup
While writing my post on How to Host a Sushi Party, I surfed the blogs for a good 30 minutes looking for a great tutorial on how to make miso soup using instant dashi. Well, I couldn’t find one that I liked, and in that 30 minutes I could have made 30 gallons of miso soup and still photograph/write a tutorial. So thats just what I did. (the photography/writing thing, not the 30 gallons)
First, the ingredients:
I use instant Dashi - kind of like Japan’s version of chicken boullion. If you didn’t have Dashi, you could use diluted chicken stock…but it just wouldn’t taste right. But hey, if you really wanted miso soup and thats all you had, go for it. Just make sure you dilute the chicken stock - 70% water, 30% stock…otherwise your miso soup will end up tasting like chicken soup. Or….instead of chicken stock - try a diluted seafood stock or vegetable stock. Both of those will work much better than chicken.
Alright, back to the dashi. You could also make dashi from kombu and bonito flakes, but this recipe is the 10 minute miso soup, therefore instant dashi works just fine. Instant dashi can also come in a convenient glass jar.
- Other uses for dashi stock- boil your edamame in dashi instead of just plain water. They will taste SO much better.
- Blanch or steam vegetables in dashi stock.
This is dried seaweed. Just a tablespoon of the dried wakame will be enough for a pot of miso soup to feed 4. Soak this in a little water and watch it expand. There are many, many different kinds of seaweed, but this one is made especially for eating in miso soup. Look at the package first. Of course, I can’t read Japanese, but the back of this package shows an illustration of miso soup and little arrows pointing to put the seaweed in the soup and a happy smiling face drinking the soup. Therefore it must mean seaweed fortified with Prozac.
This is the miso paste that I found in the refrigerated section of the Asian market. Many regular supermarkets have miso paste as well. I generally buy organic, but this is all I found last week. I like Shiro Miso the best - its lighter, sweeter, little less salty. The most important thing about making miso soup is that you never boil the miso paste. Only add miso after you’ve turned off the heat. So, if you are using anything that needs a little cooking time, just do that before you add the miso paste.
The reason why you don’t boil the miso - is that it will become gritty if it’s overcooked. All you need to really do to the miso is dissolve it in the just-boiled-soup.
Organic tofu. Cut into little cubes. I’ve tried making my own tofu before. Lots of work for very little tofu. I’d rather buy a block of the organic stuff.
Miso Soup Recipe
Ready in 10 minutes! Remember, you don’t want to boil the miso paste — add it at the end with the heat off to avoid a gritty texture.
serves 4
4 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi granules
1/2 cup miso paste
1 tablespoon dried seaweed (for miso soup), soaked in water
1/2 cup cubed tofu
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1. Pour the water into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the instant dashi and whisk to dissolve. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the tofu. Drain the seaweed and add the seaweed to the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes.
2. In the meatime, Spoon the miso paste into a bowl. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot dashi broth into a bowl and whisk with chopsticks or a whisk to mix and melt the miso paste so that it becomes a smooth mixture.
3. Turn the heat off, add the miso paste to the pot and stir well. Top with green onions and serve immediately.
This miso soup looks really authentic (bowl and spoon, included)
I wonder if it will taste as authentic if I use chicken stock. The Shiro Miso you recommended sounds worthy. Let me check out my nearby korean grocer. :p Thks!
Jaden, this is exactly how I made miso almost everyday! And Shiro Miso is my top fav, too.
Always have some on hand.
[...] Make Miso Soup - its super easy and only takes 10 minutes [...]
I wish I was content enough to read your posts without commenting…you know, just blurking. But you are just too much fun not to write and say how much I enjoyed this post.
I’ve wanted to make my own miso soup but wasn’t sure what exactly was needed. I love the prozac paste. I must search to find exactly that brand here in England. I want a happy face too.
Gotta love happy faces!
I love this recipe and all the product recommendations. I’m going to bookmark this. Thanks Jaden!
Tigerfish- I was desperate once and used diluted ckn stock, it was ok, not bad and fixed my craving.
Anh- It is so healthy that I think I should have some every day too. Maybe miso soup instead of bfast?
Melinda- you are too kind!
Amy- thank you!
yes, i am wondering where to buy that “seaweed fortified with prozac”! ;] but seriously, i do want to try this recipe too!
Hi, you have a very beautiful blog!
I am gonna try your miso soup…it looks easy enough for me, and I should be able to get all the ingredients…thanks for sharing your recipe =)
Cindy- well its probably special order from a shady seaweed dealer
Happy Homebaker- Thank you! I think you are such a talented baker - would love to try the chocolate marble bread. I think my kids would love it.
can you make make miso soup without tofu
Dondon- certainly. the only must haves are miso and dashi. The rest are “condiments”
[...] If you have fresh shitake - you can use those. I always have a stash of dried mushrooms in my pantry. If I know I’ll be using them the next day, I’ll just throw a few in a bowl with water and leave to soak overnight. If I’m pressed for time, I’ll use hot water and also microwave for 10 minutes (timing really depends on how thick your mushrooms are) In this dish, I actually prefer dried mushrooms, as they have a deep, earthly flavor and I like the slightly chewy texture for this dish. If you use fresh shitake, the Hoisin+Oyster might mask the shitake’s true flavor. I’d rather save the fresh shitake for simple, light stir-fries or in My 10 Minute Miso Soup [...]
Hi,
First of all, this page is the only page that I could find in Google that best describe and explain how to make miso soup.
Many many thanks, I definitely bookmark this page.
Just a question however, my siblings are vegan, will the taste be very bad if we do not have the Dashi?
Ivon- Use vegetable stock that is diluted…it will taste just as good…and definitely healthy!
Thanks for the recipe. Am giving it a go this evening though I’ll be using miso paste with dashi included in it - can’t read Japanese either but the label at the supermarket pointed it out.
[...] **I have moved!! Read the rest of this post at my new home** [...]
Your miso soup looks good. Miso soup is one of my favorites. I was using the dashi no moto for a long time. Then I discovered that making the dashi from konbu and bonito flakes was pretty easy. If you always have a supply of dashi in your fridge then it still only takes a few minutes to make the miso soup.
Your spoon and bowl look really interesting/good.
2 questions…
Where can I get a set of your bowls? Those look nearly indestructible!
Also, when you say to use seaweed, are you using the dried algae/nori sheets for sushi just chopped up? Or are you actually using seaweed?
Thats some good miso, first time making it and it tastes almost exactly like the best japanese restaurant ive ever been to
Thanks for this great recipe! I just made some now and it is fantastic!!
Oh how i love you and your blog…………oh oh how much i do…….thank you for this recipe and the pictures are awesome….
MMmmmmmmmmmWUAH!!!!