Miso soup is one of those dishes that I love eating but had not tried making until now. I wanted a simple miso soup that was a little more robust than a traditional miso. I opted to use red miso paste for the base. The main difference between red and white, is that white is fermented with rice, and red is both fermented longer and normally uses other grains which give it a more umami. Normally reserved for sauces or marinades it ends up making a more robust soup. You can use white miso to get a lighter version of this, but the richness of this soup would be missing.
One of the first items to note with this is I did use hondashi packets packets as a base flavor rather than creating my own stock. I then used that broth to re-hydrate the mushrooms and fungi, as well as the kombu. The main reason for this is I couldn't find bonito flakes to start a traditional broth. By doing this I fortified my dashi and created a well flavored base for my soup.
I also pressed the tofu for a couple of hours to remove some of the excess water from the tofu. I sandwiched it with paper towels and put a plate on top and let it press. You can add weight to the plate, but be careful as to not crush the tofu.
Also I had recently been to a farmer's market before I made this and I had some scapes in my pantry. Scapes are a form of immature garlic that add a soft flavor to it. It was an amazing addition to this soup, but you can omit them and add some garlic in the broth to mimic the flavor. If you want more of the color from it, you can always add more scallions when you finish the soup.
The process of making this soup was relatively simple. Essentially I created a fortified broth with kombu and mushrooms. After the flavors had been properly developed I strained out the mushrooms and seaweed and chopped them up. I added them back into the broth, put in the scapes, added the miso, and let simmer for a little bit. To finish I added the tofu cubes, and garnished with nori and scallions.
Enjoy,
Ingredients
Red Miso Paste 1 cup
Kombu 2 sheets
Tofu, Firm 1 block
Dried Shitakes 1 cup
Scallions* 1 bunch
Hondashi 2 packets
Black Seaweed 1/2 cup
Nori 1 sheets
Scapes, sliced 1 cup
Water 4 qt
Ginger, sliced 4 oz
*Use the white parts of the scallions in the soup, and garnish with thinly sliced green tops
Garnish
Nori, Scallions
Method of Procedure
Take your hondashi, dried shitakes, black seaweed, sliced ginger, kombu, and water then bring it to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mushrooms and seaweed are tender, about 1 hour.*
While the dashi is being made (your fungi fortified broth) take your tofu and split it in half. Place the halves on top of paper towels on a plate. Cover with more paper towels and put a plate on top to weigh it down. Let it rest for about 3 hours.
Once pressed dice your tofu into cubes and reserve them for later.
After the dashi is done, strain out the solids reserving the mushrooms and seaweed. Let them cool and slice them up.
Return them to the dashi and add your scapes (or garlic) and scallion whites.
Bring your soup mixture to a simmer for about 20 minutes then add your miso. Stir and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Ladle your soup into a bowl, making sure you are stirring it to keep the miso incorporated, and add your diced tofu, scallion greens, and nori.
*You can cook it longer to pull out more flavor from the ingredients, but you will have a well flavored soup after about 1 hour.
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