Miso soup is a wonderfully fast meal to prepare when in the mood for something light. In Japan it makes a traditional breakfast with rice. There really is no set recipe as the way miso soup is made varies from region to region and according to personal taste around Japan. It is an intentionally simple dish that usually contains less than eight ingredients. An ingredient that floats paired with an ingredient that sinks and an ingredient with strong flavor paired with a mild flavored ingredient is traditional. Miso has protein from soybeans but tofu, dried shaved fish, shrimp or pork are often added.
Miso made with barley and tofu made with sprouted soybeans.
It is very important to remove some of the stock from the cooking pot, let it cool slightly and use it to slightly dissolve the miso paste. The miso should never be boiled, only added for the last few minutes after the soup vegetables are done cooking. Cooking the miso will kill all of the health-promoting pro-biotics in this fermented product.
Miso paste ready to be dissolved into some cooled soup broth.
Miso, like tamari and soy sauce, often does not affect people who have problems with fresh soy products. This happens because of the fermentation process, which breaks down the problem compounds in fresh soybeans into simpler compounds that are good for us. Some miso is made with spouted soybeans, adding even more health benefits.
Be aware that miso might contain wheat, barley or another grain. This could be a problem for those with gluten issues. There is plenty of miso available made with only soybeans, just be sure to check the ingredients. My personal favorite is miso made with barley.
Start by bringing enough water to a boil to make the amount of soup needed. I often make only 1 1/2-2 cups for a single serving. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
Bell peppers and mushrooms from the refrigerator and green onion and pointsettia chile from the garden will be the vegetables for this batch of miso soup.
I use whatever vegetables I have in the garden or refrigerator but always include green onion. For this batch I am using a fresh poinsettia chile pepper, a mix of green, red and yellow bell peppers and bunapi mushrooms. Seaweed of some sort must be included and I am using both arame and wakame. Add all of the vegetables except the green onion to the simmering water and allow to cook for about five minutes.
The peppers, green onion, tofu and chile pepper are cut small and the mushrooms are left whole.
Add the tofu and simmer another five minutes. We are using two cups of water, so remove about three tablespoons of broth from the pot to a smaller bowl and add two tablespoons of the miso paste. Mix well.
Remove the soup from the heat and add the green onion. Let rest for a few moments and stir in the dissolved miso. Give another moment and serve.
A delicious bowl of vegan miso soup with mushrooms and tofu.
Other vegetables that are often used in miso soup are carrots, cabbage, daikon radish, onion, potato and fresh or dried shiitake mushroom. The hard vegetables are diced small to cook quickly and give the broth maximum flavor. Sometimes I also like to add fresh parsley or cilantro just before serving.