Do you want to make the miso soup that rivals any Japanese restaurant at home? I have the miso soup recipe for you.
What is Miso soup?
Miso soup 味噌汁 is a warm and comforting Japanese soup prepared with a soup stock (Dashi) and miso paste. It is the soul food for the Japanese which serve together with rice.
Many non-Japanese are familiar with miso soup as many Japanese restaurants serve it with rice, salad and the main dish as the bento set. Most of them will prepare the basic miso soup with wakame, silken tofu, and scallion. This article explains how to prepare the basic miso soup.
Let’s take a look at this savory Japanese miso soup recipe with an elusive flavor. It is easy, only three ingredients for the soup base, and three more for the ingredients.
There are two steps:
Prepare the dashi (the most important part of this miso soup recipe)
Add miso paste and the rest of the ingredients.
That is all you need to do!
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How to prepare the best dashi
Dashi is the Japanese word for broth. The soup base is prepared with two ingredients, kombu 昆布, .and katsuobushi 鰹節. Dashi is the foundation of a goodmiso soup recipe.
Kombu
Kombu is the edible kelp widely available in East Asia. The Chinese called it as 海带 and use it as a precious ingredient in culinary. It is usually sold in the in dry form as shown.
The type of kombu for preparing dashi is the older type, which is tougher but with more flavor. Kombu from Hokkaido is generally considered to have the best quality.
Here is how to prepare the kombu for making the dashi:
Clean the kombu with a damp cloth.
Do not remove the white substance on the surface, as it is full of umami (flavor).
Place it in a pot of water and soak it for at least three hours to extract its flavor. If you have enough time, soak it in water overnight or up to a day will yield a better result. According to the Michelin star chef from, Kikunoi restaurant at Kyoto, the best temperature to extract the flavor of kombu is at 60°C. I know this is difficult to do it even in the restaurant, not even mention it as a home cook. So I soak it for a day which yields an outstanding result too.
After soaking, bring the water temperature up to nearly boil, and remove the kombu immediately.
There are two reasons not to boil the kombu:
Boiling the water will extract other undesirable components from the kombu and yield bitterness a flavor. This happening is similar why we should not use boiling water to brew coffee, in which the coffee will turn bitter.
It will also release mucilaginous compounds that make the dashi viscous. The kombu will turn mushy and will affect the texture of the soup. Dashi should be a clear soup, just like a consomme.
If you are a vegetarian, you can use this stock to replace the dashi with katsuabushi in themiso soup recipe. Otherwise, proceed to the next step to add some katsuobushi. The addition of katsuobushi will make it even more flavorful.
Katsuobushi is the dried, fermented skipjack tuna flakes. It is deliberately fermented which results in distinct umami. It is available in most of the Asian grocery shop where you can get the dried kombu as well.
Here is how to enhance the basic kombu dashi by adding the katsuobushi to become katsuo kombu dashi:
After removing the kombu from the stock, heat the dashi to barely below boiling point. Add the katsuobushi.
Michelin star chef from Kikunoi restaurant suggests that the best temperature to extract the flavor of katsuobushi is about 80°C. He explained it should never boil the katsuobushi to avoid extraction of unwanted elements with a bitter taste.
Let the katsuobushi steep for 5 minutes at the sub-boiling point.
Strain through a cheesecloth or kitchen tissue to remove all the katsuobushi. The final product should be a clear soup with a slightly yellowish color.
Once the dashi is ready, you can use the stock to make miso soup.
The ideal ratio of water, kombu, and katsuobushi for dashi
There is no fixed ratio of ingredients to prepare the Dashi. You can use the following formula to make a relatively strong Daishi. If you intend to make the miso soup added with other ingredients, such as carrots, daikon, cabbage or mushrooms, increase the amount of water for milder dashi.
Here is my standard formula of the dashi suitable for any miso soup recipe: 1 1/2 liter water 15 g kombu 20 g katsuobushi
You can change the quantity of kombu and katsuobushi, or even add more water. Increase the amount of kombu if you go for the vegetarian version without katsuobushi.
The benefit of making a large batch of dashi
You can keep the dashi up to 1-2 days in the refrigerator or 2 weeks in the freezer. Therefore it is possible to make a large batch and keep in separate containers for your next cooking sessions. There is a chawanmushi recipe in this blog which required dashi. It is a popular starter which is very easy to make.
It is a good idea to fill the Daishi into the ice cube trays. This method makes it very convenient to remove any small amount you need from the freezer.
I measure about two cups, i.e. 500ml to make two bowls of soup in this miso soup recipe and keep the remainder.
The right way to prepare the best miso soup
Miso (みそ or 味噌)
Miso is prepared by combining the soybean with salt, grains, and koji (the fungus called Aspergillus oryzae). The combination is kept in a tight container to let it ferment for more than a year. The result is the miso paste that we get from the store.
Different types of ingredients added in the production process will determine the flavor of the miso paste. Generally, there are red/aka miso, white/shiromiso, and mixed/awase miso.
White miso is sweeter and milder, and the red miso is saltier and with a stronger taste.
The choice of miso paste depends on your preference, much like you are choosing which types of cheesing in western cooking.
You can also use a combination of misos to get a more complex flavor.
Here are the steps :
Bring the dashi to a boil.
Turn off the heat.
Put the miso paste in the miso strainer, lower the strainer into the dashi and gently stir until it dissolves. The miso paste is quicker to dissolve by stirring it in the strainer. It also gets rid of the lumps that may exist in the paste. You can use any strainer if you do not have the miso strainer.
It is important do not boil the miso as the components which contribute to the aroma will lose with higher heat.
How much miso paste you need depends on the saltiness of and the intensity of miso flavor you want.
As a general rule, use one tablespoon (about 20g) of miso for one bowl of soup (approximately 200ml).
Tofu
Any tofu is suitable for making miso soup, but the silken or smooth tofu is my choice.
Cut the tofu into small cubes. Gently place the tofu cubes into the miso soup after the miso paste has dissolved to avoid breaking the tofu.
Heat the soup again just to the point that the tofu is heated through.
Wakame
Wakame is seaweeds often sold in the dried form. You need to dehydrate it before use.
Sprinkle some wakame in cold water to let it rehydrate for five to ten minutes until it expands. Pass through a strainer and gently squeeze the wakame to remove the excess water.
Scallion
The final ingredient for this miso soup is scallion.
Cut the scallion crosswise into small pieces. Sprinkle some into the miso soup right before serving.
Variation
Once you know how to make miso soup with the basic ingredients you can use the Japanese soup base (dashi). to prepare variations with different miso soup ingredients. You can use the dashi to prepare miso soup with vegetables, or even meat. That is, of course, a different miso soup recipe that needs to mention in a separate article.
The miso soup bowl
Scoop the miso soup into the dainty miso soup bowl. The exterior of these bowls is usually black with a bright red interior. Scoop out from the miso soup bowl enhance the Japanese feeling, and make it much more presentable.
How to keep the dashi and miso soup
Dashi can be stored up to one week in the refrigerator. You can also fill up the ice cube tray with dashi or in the freezer safe container and freeze it. It can be kept in the freezer up to one to two months.
However, once you have added the miso and other ingredients, do not keep the miso soup for more than a day as it will lose its flavor. Make the miso soup fresh with the frozen dashi yield a better result.
Easy Miso Soup Recipe
Yield: 2 bowls
Miso soup 味噌汁 is a warm and comforting Japanese soup prepared with a soup stock (Dashi) and miso paste. It is the soul food for the Japanese which serve together with rice.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Ingredients
For the dashi: (the amount is more than required for 2 bowls of soup)
At its most basic, miso is a fermented paste that's made by inoculating a mixture of soybeans with a mold called koji (for you science folks, that's the common name for Aspergillus oryzae) that's been cultivated from rice, barley, or soybeans.
Miso is a fermented food, meaning it contains live, active cultures of bacteria—you know, like the good stuff that's also found in yogurt. Adding it to boiling water will kill the probiotics in the miso, nixing the health benefits it typically offers, like better digestive health.
A general rule of thumb is to use about 1 tablespoon per cup (U.S. measure, 236.5ml) or 1/4 l (250ml) but if you have a very salty red miso for example, you may need less. So when you are trying out a new miso, always add less than you think you need.
Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup that starts with a dashi stock and is flavored with miso paste. Dashi is an umami-rich stock made from dried seaweed and dried fish.Miso paste, meanwhile, is a paste made from soybeans, salt, and koji rice. The brothy soup usually contains tofu and green onions.
The Bottom Line. A little dose of miso goes a long way to please your taste buds. It also may contain health benefits like improving digestion, supporting healthy immunity and even reducing risk of certain cancers. Reap the benefits yourself by making one of our miso recipes today.
Miso is a “preservative food,” that can be kept for a long period of time due to its salt content. If kept in your refrigerator, miso itself does not go bad. In terms of the quality of the taste, miso should remain relatively consistent for up to one year.
*STIR MISO to preserve the beneficial bacteria – stir the miso paste into your cup of hot water instead of pouring boiling water over the miso as high heat can destroy the healthful bacteria; this simple technique will help ensure you get maximum “nu*tritional bang for your bite.” MISO is fermented soybean paste.
At its most basic, miso soup is simply made of three components: Dashi (Japanese soup stock) Miso (Japanese soybean paste) Soup ingredients of your choice, such as tofu and wakame seaweed.
The aromatic qualities of miso – as well as some of the nutritional benefits – are damaged when boiled. This is why miso is traditionally stirred in at the final stage of cooking, either over a gentle simmer or heat with turned off.
The base of any great miso soup is its liquid component. In lieu of dashi, a homemade vegetable broth can be used. Not only does this serve as a dashi substitute, but it also adds a layer of flavor complexity while keeping the dish plant-based and accessible to those on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
This product is even healthier than others as it has less sodium. It is also the traditional Shinshu-style made from organic rice and soybeans, and has a yellow color. The high koji ratio creates a mild and sweet taste.
How to store miso paste after opening? Miso is called a preservative food for a reason. The fermentation process and high salt content give miso paste a long shelf life, but once opened, it should be stored in a cool dark place at low temperatures to maintain its flavor and quality.
Brimming with savory, umami flavor, this easy recipe is a delicious side dish, starter, or meal on its own. Raise your hand if you love miso soup! Same. The cloudy broth is warming, nourishing, and deeply flavorful.
What Does Miso Taste Like? Miso is the ultimate reference point for the flavor sensation known as umami. The paste and the soup have a deep savory flavor, with toasty, funky, salty-sweet richness. This umami flavor forms the base of a lot of everyday Japanese cooking.
You will only need 1 tablespoon of dashi powder for this recipe. Miso paste: I recommend using white or awase miso paste. Both of these options yields a soup that's milder and less salty than the strong and pungent red miso paste.
Miso paste is a fermented soy bean paste that's used a lot in Japanese cooking. It's made by fermenting steamed soy beans with salt, grains (usually rice or barley) and koji, a type of fungus.
Classified as a fungus, Koji takes the starch in rice and other grains and breaks it down into sugars that can then be utilized by other microbes. It's an essential ingredient in miso.
Miso (みそ or 味噌) is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae) and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients.
Unlike white miso, which is made with a higher proportion of rice and has a milder, slightly sweet flavor, red miso is made with a higher proportion of soybeans.
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