Miso is a fermented mixture of soybeans, barley, and rice that’s high in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals. The salty condiment is eaten daily by many people in Japan, leading some to believe that it is the secret behind their longevity. Others have dubbed it “one of the healthiest foods in the world.” It’s also extremely delicious (as if you needed another reason to add miso to your diet), and the easiest way to cook with this wonder food is by making miso soup.
Contrary to what I had originally assumed, the Japanese classic does not consist of only miso paste and hot water (please tell me I’m not the only one who thought this). After trying my original “recipe” for miso soup, I could tell something was off and enlisted the help of a 15-year-old high school student who laughed at my naivety. She was gracious enough to teach me the recipe her grandmother taught her and was happy to share it with all of you lovely RocketNews24 readers. So without further ado, here are a few simple steps to making delicious, authentic miso soup.
What you’ll need
From left to right:
- Powdered shiitake broth しいたけだしの素
- Reduced sodium white miso paste with dashi stock added in (but you can use any kind of miso, preferably white miso)
- An onion (and green onion if you like!)
- Powdered dashi だしの素 (Japanese soup stock)
- Dried wakame seaweed
You can find all of these ingredients at a Japanese market or at an online retailer.
Let’s make some soup!
- Add three cups of water to a small pot and bring to a boil.
▼ Off to a good start.
- Splash in 6g of the shiitake broth powder, 5g of the dashi powder, and as much dried wakame, onion, and green onion as you like. Let all of the ingredients boil together for a few minutes until the onions are soft.
▼ But keep that miso paste on the plate!
At this point you may be thinking, “Hey, you forgot the miso!” Don’t worry, friends, we left it out of the boiling pot on purpose. Miso soup is one of the easiest Japanese foods to make, but there’s one important step you must remember to preserve the health benefits of your dish.
Since miso is a living food, it is extremely sensitive to high temperatures. If you add the miso paste directly into the boiling water, you will effectively kill off all the tiny microorganisms (called kojikin in Japanese) that give miso its reputation as a health food. So the last step is also the most crucial:
- After turning off your stove, place 2.5 tablespoons of miso paste in a separate bowl and add a few ladles full of hot water.
- Stir to dissolve all of the miso paste, and add the mixture to the pot.
- Give it all another good stir and you’ve got yourself some delicious miso soup! Wasn’t that easy?
A few notes:
- We use 3 cups of water to 2.5 tablespoons of miso, but you can adjust the amount to suit your tastes (add more miso for a saltier flavor).
- You can also add other things like tofu for an extra kick of protein or green chard for some more veggies, but today we kept things simple.
Be sure to check out our how-to video here and save it to your YouTube favorites for easy access the next time you want to cook up some of this delicious broth!
Happy cooking, folks!
Photos and video © RocketNews24