Japan · Soups
Miso Soup
The soul of Japanese daily cooking: a light umami-rich broth of dashi and miso with silken tofu, wakame seaweed, and scallion.
Ingredients
- dashi broth500 ml
- miso paste2 tbsp
- silken tofu100 g
- dried wakame seaweed1 tbsp
- scallion stalk1
Method
- 1Bring the dashi broth to a gentle simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Watch carefully — you want it just below boiling, with small bubbles forming at the edges. If using dashi powder, dissolve it in the water first and stir well.
- 2Add the dried wakame to the hot broth. It will expand to several times its size within a minute or two, turning silky and deep green. If using pre-soaked wakame, add it now as well.
- 3Gently lower the tofu cubes into the broth. Handle them carefully — silken tofu is delicate and will crumble if stirred too aggressively. Let everything simmer together for 1-2 minutes so the tofu warms through.
- 4Remove the pot from heat. Ladle a few spoonfuls of hot broth into a small bowl, add the miso paste, and stir until completely dissolved — no lumps. Pour this mixture back into the pot and stir gently. Never boil miso: temperatures above 75 °C destroy the beneficial enzymes and dull the complex, savory flavor you're after.
- 5Ladle into individual bowls immediately and scatter sliced green onion on top. Miso soup is best served the moment it's made — it doesn't reheat well and the miso settles to the bottom as it sits.