Miso Soup


 
Miso soup is a breeze once you get over the dashi (stock) hump; easily done as very good instant dashi of several varieties are available.

Do you know if she prefers white, black or red? Vegetarian, fish/seafood or poultry? All of the above?
 
All of the above.....probably not ideal in narrowing it down! Sorry! Thanks for your help again! I look forward to this one. So far all the projects you've put together for me have been incredible!

Clark
 
Japanese miso soup is based on dashi, as noted, a thin clear broth made with a combination of seaweeds and dried fish or, for vegetarian versions, with dried shiitakes. (Westernized versions often use fish stock, chicken stock or vegetable stock.) They are broth-y, redolent of the miso chosen, and contain small quantities of, usually, just two (or a few complementary items. These items are seasonal and, in Japanese cooking, should complement the miso and complement--yet contrast--each other. For example, one often sees, say, cubes of tofu (mild, white) paired with carrot (more strongly flavored, orange) or seaweed (more strongly flavored, green) or scallion (ditto); or daikon with mushroom or shrimp, or mushroom with shrimp. One might see a different sort of contrast as well, like combining something that sinks (potato) with something that floats (pea or scallion). Rarely does one see items of similar flavor, color or texture in the same bowl. Of course, you need not adhere to this approach but I want to give you a good idea of the philosophy.

Misos range from sweetish white (shiromiso) or yellow, to the somewhat stronger (though still moderate) red (akamiso), to the more potent black (kuromiso) or aged/smoked (hatchomiso). I’d suggest starting with the white/yellow and red.

What you’ll need from your friendly Asian market:

instant dashi mix(es)--get a couple brands

I’m going to write you a simple dashi recipe without the esoterica so also get:

dried bonito flakes (katsuo bushi)--several cups worth

kombu (a seaweed)--comes in 4x5 squares usually, in packages--get a pack or two

For one of the recipes I’ll write get:

wakame (a seaweed)--usually shredded, in packages

and:

dired shiitakes--if not available locally

Recipes forthcoming. Time for a cocktail! and a bite.
 
Dashi, a simple version (but authentic):


Take 20 square inches of kombu and place it in a 2 quart pot. Pour in 6 c of cold water and set the burner to high. Bring the water just to a boil then remove the pot from the heat and remove the kombu. Immediately dump about 1 c (10g) loose katsuo bushi flakes on top of the water and let stand 3 min, allowing the flakes to sink. If after 3 min they’ve not all done so, stir the top of the pot gently to facilitate sinking. As soon as all have sunk, pour through a coffee filter (or a sieve lined with dense cheesecloth) into a bowl. (Discard the solids or save for another use.) Use immediately or cool, uncovered, then fridge for up to 3 days, covered.



A simple miso soup:


6 c dashi

1/2 c wakame

1/4 c shiromiso (white miso)

1/2 lb soft or medium tofu, drained, diced evenly

1/2 c thinly sliced scallion



Place the dashi in a pot over med-high heat. Bring just to a simmer. Meanwhile, place the wakame in a small bowl and pour hot water over it to cover plus a half-inch or so more. Allow to soak and reconstitute, 15 min. Drain well.

Remove a cup of the dashi from the pot and place in a small pot over very low heat (or no heat at all). If the shiromiso is especially thick, put it in a small strainer, dip the strainer in the small pot to soften it, pressing the miso with the back of a spoon to force all of it into the pot. If the miso is fairly soft, simply stir it into the dashi in the small pot. Do not allow the miso--now or ever--to cook, i.e., do not bring miso to a boil as it will alter the flavor.

Put the reconstituted wakame and the tofu in the large pot of dashi and allow to simmer about 1 min. Remove from the heat and add the scallion and stir in the dashi-miso mixture. Serve.

Other recipes forthcoming but this is the basic procedure for a basic miso soup. Using the guidelines above, you can use different combinations of vegetables, fungi, seafoods, etc., to make numerous versions of miso soup.
 
I lived in Japan for 5 years and have made the miso soup for my wife's sushi cart many times, so I'll add a few thoughts.

The type of preferred miso varies by region. In the Tokyo area they prefer red miso. In southern Japan they prefer white; in between are regions where they mix red and white 50/50. We do ours with a mixture of red and white miso.

Sometimes the miso has particles that don't dissolve, so it is very important to use a strainer as Kevin mentions. We discard anything that doesn't pass through the strainer.

There are many variations of Miso soup, but one difference is that the more rural people like it more rustic with a lot more solid ingredients. The more urban people tend to prefer it with very little if any solid ingredients. I find the plain version really boring in most cases. It absolutely has to be made with dashi made from scratch to carry the day. The more rustic kind makes it easier to get by with the instant dashi since the various ingredients bring flavor to the soup. I told my mother-in-law once that I preferred the more rustic miso soup, and she joked that only country bumpkins like their miso soup that way because they don't have any real food to go with their rice. I'm very skeptical of that theory, as most rural people have plenty of meat and fish and veggies to go with their rice. In any case, the more rustic version can make a meal, served with some steamed rice, furikaki and pickled daikon or pickled plum. The thinner version works best as a first course to a three or four course dinner.

A few words about tofu. I'm often amused to see the way tofu gets used here in the states by vegetarians as a meat substitute. If you use tofu in place of meat, you are going to fall flat on your face. Just because it is a protein source doesn't mean you use tofu like meat. The flavor and texture are totally different, as is the way it cooks. However, miso soup is one of the best ways to use tofu. Simmered gently in miso soup broth, the tofu really takes on a great flavor. If you've tried tofu (as a poorly conceived meat substitute) and didn't like it, give it another try here. In most Asian stores you'll see firm, medium and soft (or silk) tofu. I usually use medium for miso soup. If you use soft, use a very sharp knife to cut it into cubes and be very, very gentle stirring and ladling so that it doesn't disintegrate. (I think I'll get into trouble if I write any more than that about tofu on a barbecue board.)

What we generally put in ours is:
Shimaya brand dashi-no-moto (1 packet per gallon)
red and white miso
thin sliced onion
age (deep fried tofu sliced very thin)
medium tofu
wakame
minced scallion

We add the wakame and scallion at the cart when we are serving it, since you don't want those to cook. Our miso soup is meant to be an accompaniment to sushi or other hot food specials, but we get a few people who eat just the miso soup for lunch. The people who get hooked on it are fanatical. We recently had to bump up our production cause we were always selling out too soon and the miso soup addicts couldn't get their fix.
 
Excellent post!

I totally agree with your points on tofu, btw, especially how well it works in miso soup. Other than the lightly fried, veg-stuffed, then lightly stewed/sauced cubes of tofu one sees in Vietnamese cuisine, tofo in miso soup is my favorite use for it.

I also like a mix of red and white.

What is your usual proportion of miso to dashi?
 
David and Kevin, I've been following this discussion with great interest and was going to ask about fried tofu. This has been a great lesson. Thanks for so much good information on how to do it right.

Rita
 
Rita--The fried tofu we use is called age (pronounced ah-geh). For a gallon of liquid, we use one cube that is 1/4 inch thick and about 2 inches by 4 inches. You can find this already made in oriental food stores, often in the frozen section. We slice as thinly as possible then cut the ribbons into lengths about 1/2 inch long. Age is best added to miso soup early since it helps the broth to develop a rich flavor.

Kevin--we probably ought to measure the miso by weight but we always just eyeball it, and then add until the salt level is where we want it to be. Per one gallon of liquid I'd guess we use about 1 cup of miso, about half a cup each of red and white. We use one packet of instant dashi per gallon. So I guess that would make the ratio 1 cup of miso per 1 packet of instant dashi.
 
David, I really like fried tofu and often toss it into certain stir-fries to extend the protein and for textural interest, not to mention the flavor. I didn't know the name, though. Thanks for the tips on how you slice it for the soup. I must make that soup! Especially now that the weather is finally beginning to cool off.

Rita
 
I was reminded when writing this of a recipe I have made from time-to-time over the past many years. Very simple; I think it came out of a one food mag or another.


1 3 or 4-inch piece fresh ginger, frozen, then thawed just before use

2 c dashi

2 c water

2 dozen Manila or littleneck clams, scrubbed well

3 T white miso

1 T red miso

1 t soy sauce

3 scallions, thinly sliced


Unwrap the thawed ginger and, using the wrap to keep your fingers from directly contacting the ginger, squeeze it well over a small bowl to extract the juice. You should have 1.5-2 t. Reserve.

Mix the dashi with the water in a pot and place over med-high heat. Add the clams, cover and simmer till clams open, about 7-10 minutes, depending on the clams. (Discard clams that do not open.) Remove the pot from the heat and gently transfer clams to a bowl using a slotted spoon.

Remove the clam meat from the shells; reserve meat and 8 of the shells separately. Strain broth plus any juices from the reserved clam meats through a very fine sieve or a coffee filter. Rinse the pot.

Return the broth to the pot and bring to a simmer. Remove 3/4 c or so of the hot broth to a bowl, then, using the miso-in-sieve technique mentioned above, add both misos to the sieve and dip into the bowl, pressing the misos through.

Add the ginger juice and soy sauce to the large pot. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the miso-broth mix from the bowl.

Place 2 clam shells in each of 4 serving bowls. Divide the clam meats evenly and place them in the shells, 3 meats to a shell. Gently ladle the broth into the bowls. Top with the sliced scallion; serve immediately.
 
Hi all, been away for a few days. Thanks for all the info. I'll be heading out of town and get to the store in a week or so and will get started. This all looks very interesting.


Clark
 
That is a very interesting technique for extracting the juice from ginger. Is that a method you can use wherever you want fresh ginger flavor? I love fresh ginger but the two methods I've seen used both have their problems. The problem with mincing is that every single piece has to be VERY tiny or it can be too strong. The problem with grating is that you get unsightly strands that some people mistake for short, fine hairs.
 
Yes. It works pretty well. Freezing something like fresh ginger in a conventional freezer, as you know, breaks down the fibrous cell structure because the freezing takes place relatively slowly and larger ice crystals-which cut into the fibers--form. This makes juice extraction fairly easy once the ginger has thawed.

Conventional graters do not work well for fresh ginger but ginger graters do. I use them when I do want the actual ginger in the dish--in some sauces or fillings, for example. But for juice only (which I prefer for clear or fairly clear soups/broths) I like the freeze/thaw/squeeze approach. See what you think.
 
OK, I now have:
Dried bonito flakes, Kombu, Shimaya brand dashi-no-moto, Red and white miso, Age (deep fried tofu), Medium tofu, Wakame, Dried Shiitakes, Scallions, Several fingers of ginger in the freezer, Snow peas, & Baby bok choy. Daikon was on my list but I forgot to buy it.

The Shimaya brand dashi-no-moto I bought today = 10 grams per packet (ten 2-packet strips to a box). No English directions on the box.

I found littleneck clams at our new Fresh Market nearby and will buy when I make the soup.

I've done very little Japanese cooking, so getting the ingredients was an, ahem, interesting but fun experience. When I couldn't find the kombu, I was directed to Ottogi (labeled Sea Tangles), but I ultimately found the kombu. Gotta love the translations!

I'm planning to make the clam version and I'd also like to use the miso soup as a lunch entree, so will need to bulk it up a bit but don't want to lose the ethnicity and, using the term rather loosely, the ambience of the dish.

Is a starch such as a noodle (soba?) or rice ever added to the soup? Soaked shiitakes, thinly sliced. Classic vegetable additions?

Clark, I'm so glad that you started this thread!

Rita
 
Your waaaay good to go!

See tangles are not at all uncommon in miso soup, btw.

Shiitakes, of course; in fact, shiitake is used for the dashi, often, when a vegetarian broth is required.

David would be the go-to on the question of soba or rice actually in the soup. I have never had nor seen this done, but I have not lived in Japan nor do I have a Japanese wife.

Classic additions, in my experience, are seasonal. As David notes, the few-item soups do tend to be urban. You can certainly go with a more substantial soup. I have had included in soups, in addition to the items mentioned above, in various combinations, kabocha squash, slivered onion, shrimp, watercress, Napa, bok choi, enoki mushrooms, button mushrooms, scallops, chicken, pork. (In Phillipine cuisine, once rather influenced by the Japanese, one often finds tamarind included, something I like very much, especially with pork.)
 
Noodles and rice would typically not be added to miso soup, but thinly sliced potatoes are added in some of the more rustic versions. As Kevin mentions, you could also add kabocha winter squash cut into small dice. Kabocha goes very well with miso flavor, and if cooked long enough will just disintegrate, making the broth even richer. With tofu, potatoes and kabocha, you would have a very hearty soup.

If you want to have noodles and miso, Ramen noodles are sometimes eaten in a miso flavored broth and that is the way I typically order when we go to ramen places. Most Americans only know of the instant ramen, but freshly made Ramen noodles are very common in Japan and are really good. That wouldn't be called miso soup, but rather miso-flavored ramen.
 

 

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