Recipe by user david
A quick, classic Japanese miso soup with silken tofu, wakame, and scallions in a light dashi broth.
Serves 4
This homemade miso soup is a simple, restaurant-style staple made with savory dashi, dissolved miso (for maximum aroma), silky cubes of tofu, and wakame with fresh green onion added at the end for color and fragrance. Serve it as a light starter, alongside a Japanese meal, or as a soothing snack on cold days. Key tips: dissolve miso off the boil to preserve flavor, add tofu only after miso is fully dissolved to keep it from breaking, and never boil miso soup—warm it gently until just hot if reheating.
Add water and kombu (dried kelp) to a medium saucepan. If you have time, soak the kombu in water for 30 minutes. NEVER wash kombu and do not remove the white substance—that’s umami! These days, it‘s pretty clean, so just make sure there are no dirt particles.
SLOWLY bring it to a boil (about 10 minutes) on medium-low heat so you can extract as much umami from the kombu as possible. Right before the stock boils, remove the kombu and set it aside for another use. (If you leave the kombu, it gets slimy and yields a bitter taste.) Now, what you have is Kombu Dashi. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, use this kombu dashi for your miso soup.
If you‘re not vegetarian/vegan, add katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) to the kombu dashi and bring it back to a boil again. Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for just 30 seconds.
Turn off the heat and let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Then, strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
Now you have roughly 4 cups of Awase Dashi. You can store the dashi in the refrigerator for up to 3–5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Reserve the spent katsuobushi and repurpose it; see the suggested recipes that follow at the end of the instructions.
Gather all the ingredients.
Cut the green onion/scallion into thin rounds.
Cut the green onion/scallion into thin rounds.
Add dashi to a saucepan; if using refrigerated dashi, bring to a slow boil (205°F/96°C) over medium heat, then turn off the heat.
Add dashi to a saucepan; if using refrigerated dashi, bring to a slow boil (205°F/96°C) over medium heat, then turn off the heat.
Add miso by placing it in a ladle, slowly adding hot dashi into the ladle, and stirring to dissolve completely; if it becomes too salty, dilute with more dashi (or water).
Add miso by placing it in a ladle, slowly adding hot dashi into the ladle, and stirring to dissolve completely; if it becomes too salty, dilute with more dashi (or water).
Cut the soft/silken tofu into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) cubes and add to the soup after the miso is fully dissolved.
Cut the soft/silken tofu into 1/2-inch (1.3 cm) cubes and add to the soup after the miso is fully dissolved.
Right before serving, add dried wakame and the chopped green onions; if desired, rehydrate wakame separately in water to reduce saltiness. If reheating, warm until just hot and never boil.
Right before serving, add dried wakame and the chopped green onions; if desired, rehydrate wakame separately in water to reduce saltiness. If reheating, warm until just hot and never boil.
Serve immediately.
Serve immediately.
If you accidentally add too much miso, dilute the miso soup with dashi (or water).
After dissolving the miso in the strainer, you may see rice koji (especially when it’s koji miso). It’s up to you if you want to include it in the miso soup or discard it (personal preference).
Tip: Add the tofu after the miso is completely dissolved; otherwise, you might break the tofu when stirring in the miso.
Note: It is very common to cut tofu on your palm in Japan. However, I recommend using a cutting board if you have never done this.
Tip: If you worry about salt intake, I recommend rehydrating the dried wakame in a separate bowl of water to get rid of the saltiness, instead of rehydrating it in the soup itself.
If reheating, warm up the miso soup until it is just hot. NEVER BOIL miso soup because it loses flavor and aroma.
In general, it’s best to consume all the miso soup right away because it will lose its aroma and taste as time passes.
Let your miso soup cool to room temperature (up to 4 hours; any longer and it will spoil) and then refrigerate.
Keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
If you want to make a big batch to store for later, it’s best to refrigerate the soup without adding the miso. When ready to use, add the miso only for the portion you need.
You can freeze miso soup for up to 2 weeks. However, you have to remove the tofu before freezing as the texture will change.
Heat the miso soup in a pot over medium heat, but do not boil. Miso loses its nutrients, flavor, and aroma at high temperatures.
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