Miso soup, a must in Japan

Miso soup is a must-have soup in the daily life of Japanese people. Presentation:

Miso soup, an essential element in a Japanese meal
Ingredients of miso soup
Instant miso soup
Simple miso soup recipe
The benefits of miso soup

Miso soup, an essential element in a Japanese meal

Miso soup“味噌汁” or“miso shiru” is an essential element in a Japanese meal just like rice. However, in Japan, it is considered more as a drink than as a dish.
It often accompanies all meals from breakfast onwards and this for about 75% of Japanese people.
This tendency is starting to diminish among young people who are eating more and more western style breakfast.

In France, miso soup is traditionally served with sushi in Japanese restaurants. A small hot starter that precedes the sushi. If you want to make it at home, here is the recipe for miso soup.

Ingredients of miso soup

As its name suggests, its main ingredient is miso, a fermented soy, rice or barley paste. There are several types of miso, with more or less strong and salty taste. The choice of miso is different depending on the taste, the region or the season.

For example, red miso or aka miso will be used in winter in miso soup because it has a stronger taste in mouth, and white miso or shiro miso rather in summer because it has a lighter and sweeter taste.

Another fundamental ingredient of miso soup is dashi, a Japanese broth. Generally, dashi is a broth made of konbuGenerally, dashi is a broth made of seaweed, dried bonito, a cousin of tuna, and/or small sardines called niboshi.
There are of course other variants that will vary the taste of the soup. You can make this fresh dashi yourself, but the recipe is quite long and some of the ingredients are quite rare, even in Japan. Nowadays, most Japanese people use instant liquid or granulated dashi substitutes for convenience.
Once the base of the soup is prepared we can add :

wakame seaweed, usually sold dried, is a very popular seaweed in Japan that helps good digestion. It is full of very good virtues for the health.
cubes of tofu, which adds texture and chewiness to the soup. Tofu has a reputation for being tasteless but in this miso soup, the tofu absorbs the taste of the dashi and the paste miso. A delight.

To vary the preparation, you can add some ingredients:

shrimps or ebi “エビ”
japanese shiitake mushrooms which will bring a strong taste
spring onion for freshness and color
thinly sliced beef etc. …

It is up to you to vary your miso soups by adding different elements each time. You will find the recipe that you like the most. I like the classic miso soup: dashi, miso, wakame and tofu. I only vary the type of miso to change the taste.

Instant miso soup

If you don’t have enough time, miso soup is available in instant form, you just have to boil some hot water and it’s ready in 2 minutes.
We have tested several instant miso soups and the best ones are by far the ones sold with fresh miso. The soups where miso is also dehydrated are less tasty.
It is very convenient, but it is like everything else, instant miso soup will never replace the real home made miso soup. You will see, it is not so long and complicated as that:

Simple miso soup recipe

Below is the simplified recipe of this famous soup. If you want to see more details and pictures, please read the whole miso soup recipe.

In this recipe, we will use dehydrated dashi for time reasons. To make a good dashi, it takes about 24 hours. Here is the link if you want to make your own dashi.

For two people you will need :

- Water
- Miso paste
- Dehydrated wakame seaweed
- Dashi powder
- Tofu

Boil the water with the dashi in a saucepan. In the meantime, rehydrate the wakame seaweed in warm water for 10 minutes and cut the tofu into small cubes. Add the wakame and tofu to the pan and wait 5 minutes until it boils. Then remove the pan from the heat and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of miso. Don’t hesitate to start slowly, taste and add more if needed. Miso being quite salty, it would be a shame to put too much in and spoil your soup.
Miso is difficult to dilute, the best way is to put the miso paste in a small strainer and place it in the pot. Dilute the miso paste with a whisk or with Japanese chopsticks. Do not boil the miso because it would lose all its properties.

Then serve your soup in a bowl called Shiru-wan “汁椀”, a Japanese bowl for miso soups. Most shiru-wan bowls are lacquered and have a lid or not to keep the heat in.

Ready in 10 min, the recipe is quick and a little miso soup while eating is nice! Have a good tasting.

The benefits of miso soup

Miso soup could be the secret of the Japanese to stay in shape for many years?
Indeed, miso soup has very healthy ingredients:
– miso paste is certainly one of the most beneficial foods that exists according to Japanese researchers.
– wakame seaweed strengthens the immune system.
– tofu is rich in protein.
All the ingredients of miso soup are very healthy and good for your health! Moreover, miso and dashi are part of the so-called “umami” foods, foods that give dishes a tasty and round taste in the mouth.