How To Make Miso Soup

Titania wanted to know how to make Miso Soup.

That all depends on what you use. There are packages of powdered miso soup mix you can get in the store. You basically add 8 ounces of hot water and stir those.

If you are making real miso soup, which I do fairly often too, you need more ingredients.

Miso Paste - There are many different kinds, so you'll have to try some until you find what you like. Most japanese restaurants use shiro miso or white miso paste. That is what I normally use.

Dashi Broth - Dashi is the bland soup base that miso paste is mixed into to make miso soup. There are several ways to get dashi broth. The easiest way are powdered mix that you can get at any asian (or japanese) market. There are MSG-free dashi mixes, or dashi no moto which is MSG based... tastes great, but not so good for you. I get an MSG-free version. One box of dashi mix lasts me a very long time. From scratch, dashi is actually a mild bonito (dried tuna) and kombu (kelp) broth.

Flavorful Garnish - There are variations of flavorful garnishes that make the soup more beautiful and tasty. The most popular of these are silky tofu cubes, green onion, and sometimes shredded nori (paper seaweed). These ingredients would be cut and placed in the bowl, with the hot broth poured over them to retain their shape and freshness.

So to make a cup of real miso soup, you would heat up about 16 ounces of water, add the appropriate measurement of dashi mix, simmer, then reduce the heat and add a tablespoon or two of your favorite miso paste. It should cloud the water, but not thicken the soup. Then pour over your garnish ingredients in your bowl. Miso itself should not be boiled, so the only boiling should take place when heating the original dashi broth.

I hope this has helped! :)