Note:
Miso soup is one of my comfort foods. The stresses of the day melt away after a bowl of this deliciousness. Here is my vegetarian recipe but I used to make my own fish dashi using bonito flakes or I used packet fish dashi (no MSG) which you can buy from most asian grocers. You can add lots of extra yummies to a miso soup, here’s a simple tofu recipe.
Ingredients:
3 cups water
10cm square piece kombu (kelp)
1 cube of vegie stock
2-3 tbsp miso , I like using the sweeter white miso (miso shiru)
Miso Soup can be made with all sorts of ingredients. Some of my favourite combinations are:
• ½ a block tofu (cut into 1.5cm cubes) and 5g dried wakame (edible seaweed)
• Daikon (white radish) and fried tofu
• Sweet potato, corn and spinach
• Pumpkin and spinach
• Enoki mushrooms and fresh shitake mushrooms
Instructions:
DASHI (STOCK)-
1. Wipe the surface of kombu with a dry teatowel. Make a few snips into the kombu to help release the flavours (using scissors). Place water and kombu in a saucepan and soak for at least 30 minutes.
2. Place the pan over medium heat and slowly bring to the boil. Just before it reaches boiling point, remove the kombu.
3. Once the water comes to the boil, turn off the heat, put a ladle-ful of cold water into the pan, then add the vegie stock cube.
4. Return to the heat until the water comes back to the boil, then remove from heat.
5. Strain dashi through a fine sieve.
SOUP -
1. Soak the wakame in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat dashi in a pan and dissolve miso in a cup of the stock and pour back into remaining stock in the pan, making sure the stock does not boil after the miso is added (or it goes quite sour).
3. Add ingredients and heat through gently.
4. Serve in a bowl, garnished with finely chopped green onions.
Extra note:
Ingredients such as tofu and wakame don’t need to be cooked, they only need heating through after the miso has been added. If adding other vegies, cook in the dashi stock before adding the miso paste.
Kudos:
To my Dad, who makes the best miso soup in Melbourne! And to Megan, when I was living in Byron Bay she introduced the idea of adding lots of vegies to a hearty miso soup.
Hey Kirst, how come an acid like apple cider vinegar or lemon juice is alkaline? But orange is acidic?
Good question, Di.
Here’s what my dietician tells me (it’s controversial, I know):
> Lemons are one of the gentlest ways to restore pH balance and alkalinity. Although lemon juice is itself acidic, the ash of lemon juice (which is produced during digestion) is alkaline.
> Unlike almost every other vinegar, apple cider vinegar has an alkaline ash when digested as well.
However, some people say they are both acidic and the reason why they work is that sometimes our stomachs aren’t acidic enough and these products help with digestion. I’m no scientist so I’m just going on what my dietician says.