What’s in Miso Soup? A Quick Guide to Authentic Japanese Soup
Have you ever wondered about the delicious miso soup commonly served at Japanese restaurants? Here’s a quick guide to what’s in miso soup and everything you need to know about this classic dish!
Looking for easy miso soup recipes? Try these simple 3-step miso soup recipes!
This guide is your go-to for mastering the art of miso soup. I’ll walk you through essential ingredients, offer tips on selection, and provide a simple five-step recipe for crafting this comforting dish at home. Let’s dive in!
What is Miso Soup?
Miso soup (miso shiru in Japanese) is a staple of Japanese cuisine and a beloved traditional soup. The main ingredients are miso paste, dashi soup, and additional ingredients like tofu, vegetables, and seaweed.
This savory soup is perfect for any time of day, but many believe it’s best enjoyed in the morning as it warms the body from the inside out. In fact, miso paste has been known to have soothing properties that can help you relax and feel calm.
One of the best things about miso soup is how easy it is to make. Even a seven-year-old can make it on their own! As a child, the first recipe I learned from my mother was how to make miso soup. It’s the most straightforward soup in Japanese cooking and can bring a sense of peace with every comforting bowl.
Key Ingredients in Miso Soup
What is miso soup made of? As mentioned earlier, miso soup’s key ingredients are:
Pick an Authentic Miso Paste
It takes time to make miso paste, like six months to a year, but some products are much shorter. These products contain additives to fake the deep flavor and control the quality, which doesn’t have an authentic taste. Miso paste is the key ingredient in classic miso soup, so I recommend picking genuine products that only contain rice, koji rice, and salt on the label.
Variety of Soup Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you can pick for your miso soup!
Pick your favorite ingredient and make your original miso soup every day! If you like hearty soup like me, select 2 or 3 and make it a filling dish!
Tofu Miso Soup Ingredients
For example, what’s in tofu miso soup? It’s one of the most popular miso soup recipes, and they are made of these ingredients:
Creating something delicious at home is easier than you think with just a few simple ingredients. Let’s dive into how to make it!
How to Make Miso Soup: 5 Easy Steps
Making miso soup is a breeze! Gather the ingredients, and you will have delicious, fragrant broth ready in 5 minutes (if you use instant dashi powder).
How to make it is so simple and easy as follows:
That’s it! Miso soup is best enjoyed when it’s hot, so serve it immediately!
By the way, we use these miso soup bowls (Owan in Japanese) to serve miso soup. It’s light and easy to hold. In Japan, the tradition is to enjoy food from a bowl held in your palm. (It’s perfectly acceptable to drink directly from a small plate in Japanese culture).
Easy Miso Soup Recipes You’ll Love
Are you looking for delicious miso soup recipes? You can check these easy-to-follow miso soup recipes, such as mushroom miso soup, daikon miso soup, wakame seaweed miso soup, and more. I hope you will enjoy the authentic flavor!
Where to Buy Japanese Ingredients
- Japanese grocery stores: Mitsuwa marketplace, Marukai
- Local Asian grocery stores or Asian market
- Online stores: Instacart, Walmart, Amazon
Your Questions Answered
There are three main ingredients in miso soup. They are miso paste, dashi soup, and additional ingredients like tofu, vegetables, and seaweed.
Miso soup typically consists of more than just miso paste and hot water. It also includes a soup stock called dashi, usually made from bonito flakes or kelp, and contains additional ingredients such as tofu, seaweed, or vegetables.
Yes, miso soup is generally considered healthy due to its nutritious ingredients. Miso paste, the main ingredient in miso soup, is made from fermented soybeans and other grains and contains beneficial bacteria that can improve gut health. Additionally, miso soup often contains other healthy ingredients, such as seaweed, tofu, and vegetables. However, it’s worth noting that miso soup can be high in sodium, so it’s important to consume it in moderation as part of a balanced diet.
Miso soup can be vegan or non-vegan, depending on the type of dashi used. Traditional dashi is usually made with bonito flakes, which are dried fish flakes, making it non-vegan. However, vegan alternatives, such as kombu dashi or shiitake mushroom dashi, are available. Miso soup can be considered a vegan dish if vegan dashi is used.
Miso soup is a staple dish in Japanese cuisine and is consumed on a daily basis in many households. It is often served as a part of breakfast, lunch, or dinner. We have it almost every day for breakfast.
A bowl of miso soup is flavorful and rich in umami, with hints of sweetness from the added vegetables such as onion and sweet potato.
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More Miso Soup Recipes You Will Love
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Equipment
- Medium saucepan 18cm/7 inches
- Miso measuring whisk
Ingredients
- 1 Tofu, 200g, 7oz
- ½ Scallion, 50g, 1.7oz
- 1½ tsp Dashi powder, 5g
- 3 cups Water, 720ml
- 2 Tbsp Miso paste, 36g, 1.3oz
Instructions
- Preparation: Chop scallion, cut tofu into cubes.
- Bring to a boil: Put the scallions, tofu, dashi powder, and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil on medium heat.
- Simmer: Lower the heat and simmer for one minute.
- Add miso paste: Turn off the heat, add miso (use a miso measuring whisk if you have it), and stir gently until it dissolves.
Video
Notes
- Storage: 3 days in the fridge.
- If the taste of the soup is light to you, feel free to add more miso paste.
- If you want to try making dashi from scratch, here are the recipes: vegan dashi (shiitake mushroom and kombu), awase dashi (bonito and kombu), niboshi dashi (dried sardine)
- Always add miso paste after turning off the heat. If you boil the miso, you will lose the excellent flavor.
- When adding the miso to your soup, stir gently (try not to break the tofu).
