Miso soup
A light dashi broth made from kombu and bonito flakes, seasoned with miso and filled with silken tofu, wakame and spring onion.
Method
- 1
Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth, leaving the white powder on the surface, since that carries much of the flavour.
- 2
Put the kombu and the water in the saucepan and leave to soak.
- 3
Set the pan over medium-low heat and warm it slowly until small bubbles form around the edge.
- 4
Lift out the kombu just before the water boils, as boiling it makes the broth slimy and bitter.
- 5
Turn up the heat and bring the water to a full boil.
- 6
Scatter in the bonito flakes, turn off the heat and leave them to steep until they sink.
- 7
Meanwhile, cover the wakame with cold water in a small bowl and leave it to soften.
- 8
Pour the broth through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl without pressing the flakes, then pour the dashi back into the rinsed pan.
- 9
Drain the wakame, add it to the dashi with the tofu and warm through over low heat.
- 10
Put the miso in a ladle, lower it into the broth and stir with chopsticks until it has dissolved.
- 11
Heat until the soup is steaming but not boiling, since boiling dulls the aroma of the miso.
- 12
Ladle into bowls, scatter with the spring onion and serve straight away.
Notes
- Miso varies a lot in saltiness. Stir in two thirds of it first, taste, then add the rest if needed.
- For a vegan version, soak 3 dried shiitake mushrooms with the kombu and leave out the bonito flakes.
- The dashi keeps for 3 days in the fridge. Add the miso only when you reheat it.
Equipment
Medium saucepan, Fine sieve, Heatproof bowl, Small bowl, Ladle