Online recipe

Miso Soup

Online recipe (as published / commonly shared)
Servings: 4 · Prep 5 min · Cook 15 min · Total 20 min

We wrote this recipe in the Joy of Cooking style. Every amount, time and step comes from the source's recipe card.

Japanese miso soup with tofu, wakame and green onion. The dashi (stock) is made from scratch.

For soup in less than 10 minutes, use a dashi packet or powder instead. This version makes awase dashi from scratch with kombu and katsuobushi. For vegan or vegetarian soup, use the kombu dashi below, or a vegan dashi of kombu and dried shiitake.

Cut into thin rounds:
    1 green onion/scallion

To Make the Dashi (can make in advance)

Add to a medium saucepan:
    4 cups water
    1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (⅓ oz, 10 g per piece; 4 x 4 inches or 10 x 10 cm)

If time allows, soak the kombu in the water for 30 minutes. Do not wash the kombu or remove the white substance. Check that there are no dirt particles.

Bring slowly to a boil over medium-low heat (about 10 minutes). Remove the kombu right before the stock boils; set aside for another use. Kombu left in turns slimy and bitter. This is kombu dashi. For vegetarian or vegan soup, use it as is.

For soup that is not vegetarian or vegan, add to the kombu dashi:
    1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (packed; I used a loosely packed 3 cups in the video for stronger flavor)

Bring back to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for just 30 seconds.

Turn off the heat and let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

This makes roughly 4 cups of awase dashi. Refrigerate for up to 3–5 days, or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Reserve the spent katsuobushi to reuse; uses follow at the end.

To Make the Miso Soup

Add to the saucepan:
    the dashi

If using refrigerated dashi, bring it to a slow boil (205°F/96°C) over medium heat. Turn off the heat.

Add:
    4 Tbsp miso (use 1 Tbsp, 18 g for every 1 cup, 240 ml of dashi)

Put the miso in a ladle, slowly add dashi to the ladle, and stir with chopsticks to dissolve completely. A miso muddler also works. If too much miso goes in, dilute with dashi or water.

Rice koji may remain, especially with koji miso. Add it or discard, as preferred.

Cut into ½-inch (1.3 cm) cubes and add to the miso soup:
    7 oz soft/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu)

Add the tofu only after the miso is completely dissolved, or stirring may break it.

Right before serving, add to the pot with the chopped green onions:
    1 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed

To reduce salt, rehydrate the wakame in a separate bowl of water instead of in the soup. When reheating, warm until just hot. Never boil miso soup.

To Serve

Serve immediately. Place the bowl on the right side of the table setting.

To Store

Cool to room temperature (up to 4 hours; any longer and it will spoil), then refrigerate. Keep for up to 2 days. For a big batch, refrigerate without the miso; add miso only to the portion needed. Freeze for up to 2 weeks, but remove the tofu first; its texture will change.

To Reheat the Miso Soup

Heat the soup in a pot over medium heat, but do not boil.

Save the spent kombu and katsuobushi in an airtight container. Refrigerate for a week, or freeze for up to a month.

Use the spent kombu to make Simmered Kombu (Kombu Tsukudani).

Or make Homemade Furikake (Rice Seasoning).

Citations
- Just One Cookbook · Homemade Miso Soup with Tofu: https://www.justonecookbook.com/homemade-miso-soup/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Miso+Soup
- web writeups: https://www.google.com/search?q=Miso+Soup+recipe

Cookbook ancestor
- Affiliate: buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568363885?tag=recipeancesto-20
- Reference: Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji (1980). Publisher: Kodansha International, 2012 edition, hardcover, ISBN 978-1568363882.

We put this together for personal use. See the citations.