Making Miso Soup
A proper bowl of miso soup should be clear, aromatic, and deeply grounding. By keeping your additions simple and focusing on the temperature of the stock, you get a clean, restorative start to the morning.
Temperature control is your only real challenge.
Avoid high heat once the miso is added. If you boil it, the aromatics vanish.
- small heavy-bottomed saucepan
- fine-mesh strainer
- whisk or soup ladle
What goes in.
- 2 cupsdashi stock
- 2 tbspmiso paste, light or dark
- 1/2 cupsilken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 tbspwakame, dried
- 1 tbspscallions, thinly sliced on a bias
Temper the paste
Don't drop a clump of miso into the pot. Place the paste into a fine-mesh strainer submerged partially in the broth, whisking it through with your fingers or a spoon until it dissolves evenly.
The method.
Rehydrate the wakame
Place the dried wakame in a small bowl of water for five minutes until expanded, then drain well.
Heat the dashi
Bring the dashi stock to a gentle simmer over medium heat in the saucepan. Do not let it reach a rolling boil.
Add the solids
Add the tofu cubes and rehydrated wakame. Let them warm through for one minute.
Dissolve the miso
Remove the pan from the heat. Place your miso paste into the strainer, dip it into the stock, and work it through into the liquid until smooth. Discard any remaining solid soybean skins left in the mesh.
Finish
Stir once, taste, and serve immediately garnished with the scallions.
Other turns to take.
Earthier
Use a darker, red miso variety and add a few sliced shiitake mushrooms to the dashi while it simmers.
Brighter
Add a pinch of fresh grated ginger or a tiny splash of mirin to balance a particularly salty batch of miso.
When it doesn't go to plan.
If you are short on time, use high-quality instant dashi granules, but watch the salt content as they can be aggressive.
Silken tofu is fragile; add it at the very end so it doesn't break apart into white clouds.
Different miso brands have different salinity; add one tablespoon first, taste, then add the second.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I reheat leftover miso soup?
Reheating tends to change the texture and flavor of the miso. It is best made fresh in the portion you plan to consume.
Does it matter which miso I use?
White miso is sweeter and milder, while red miso is pungent and salty. Choose based on how intense you want the soup to be.
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