Making Miso Soup at Home
You are making a foundational Japanese soup that relies on the quality of your dashi. Keep the ingredients minimal to let the umami of the kelp and fermented soybeans stand on their own.
Mind the temperature.
The miso paste is a living ingredient. If you boil it, you kill the flavor and texture, so keep the heat off or at the absolute lowest setting when you add it.
- medium saucepan
- fine mesh strainer
- whisk or soup ladle
What goes in.
- 4 cupswater
- 1 piece (4-inch)dried kombu (kelp)
- 1 cupkatsuobushi (bonito flakes)
- 3 tbspmiso paste (light or red)
- 1/2 cupsilken tofu, cubed
- 2 tbspscallions, thinly sliced
Dissolve before adding
Place your miso paste into the strainer and submerge it halfway into the broth, using a spoon to push it through. This prevents lumps and keeps the broth smooth.
The method.
Make the dashi
Place water and kombu in a saucepan. Heat over medium until small bubbles form at the edges, then remove the kombu immediately. If you leave it, the broth turns slimy.
Infuse
Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, turn off the heat, and stir in the bonito flakes. Let them steep for 3 minutes until they sink to the bottom.
Strain
Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, discarding the solids. Return the clear liquid to the stove.
Add solids
Add the tofu cubes to the broth and heat gently until they are warmed through.
Incorporate miso
Turn the heat to the absolute lowest setting or off entirely. Temper the miso paste into the broth using a strainer. Stir gently until completely dissolved.
Serve
Ladle into bowls immediately and top with sliced scallions.
Other turns to take.
Wakame
Add a teaspoon of dried seaweed to the dashi at the same time as the tofu; it will rehydrate and bloom in the hot broth.
Hearty Miso
Include thinly sliced daikon radish or mushrooms, simmering them in the dashi for 5-7 minutes before adding the tofu.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Use white miso for a sweeter, milder soup; use red miso for something deeper and saltier.
If you don't have a strainer for the miso, whisk it with a small amount of warm broth in a separate bowl first to create a slurry before adding it to the pot.
Never add the miso to a rolling boil; the resulting soup will be cloudy and bitter.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use instant dashi powder?
Yes. If you skip the kombu and bonito, simply dissolve the recommended amount of dashi powder into 4 cups of hot water and proceed with the rest of the steps.
How long does the soup stay good?
Miso soup is best consumed immediately. If stored, the flavor profile changes and the tofu loses its texture.
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