After I was first introduced to miso as a cooking ingredient while trying to make some peanut sauce from scratch, the next natural step is to prepare miso soup with my remaining miso.
Red Miso, Soft Tofu and Wakame Seaweed
Miso (みそ or 味噌) is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley, and/or soybeans with salt and the fungus kōjikin (麹菌). The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru (味噌汁), a Japanese culinary staple. Miso is high in protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and is typically salty. There is a wide variety of miso available. The traditional Chinese analogue of miso is known as dòujiàng (豆酱).
Red Miso
Dashi can be optional. That makes my miso soup as simple as 1-2-3-4. Literally!
- One box of tofu (I prefer the soft type for this dish)
- Two teaspoons of Wakame seaweed
- Three tablespoons of miso
- Four cups of water
Soak the Wakame seaweed in water. Within half an hour, they will turn into green seaweed with their size multiplied many folds, so watch out for how much you add in your soup. Cut tofu in small cubes.
Dried Wakame Seaweeds
Wakame Seaweeds after soaking in water for 30 min.
Preparation:
Bring water to a boil and add seaweed. Allow to simmer at least 5 ~ 7 minutes. The longer you simmer the seaweed, the less of a salty fishy flavor it will have, I am told.
Reduce heat to very low and add tofu and miso. Stir until miso is well dissolved. It’s best NOT to boil the miso, as this will ruin some of its healthy properties such as the fungus kōjikin (麹菌).
Sprinkle minced green onion and serve hot. おいしい!!:-)
Miso Soup
