Local name: 味噌汁
A clear kombu broth with miso stirred in at the last moment, cubes of silken tofu and tender ribbons of wakame.
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Miso should never boil, as fierce heat kills both its aroma and its live cultures. Always stir it in at the end, with the heat off.
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
Past a bare simmer, kombu releases bitter compounds and a slippery texture that clouds the broth. Lifted out at the first tremble, it gives a clear, rounded dashi. The cold soak has already drawn out most of its flavour.
High heat destroys its volatile aromas and live cultures, and the broth loses its fragrance. Always turn off the heat, slacken the miso in a ladleful of hot broth to avoid lumps, then stir it gently back into the pan.
White miso is mild and slightly sweet, red is saltier and more fermented; either works, adjusted to taste. To keep the soup gluten free, choose a rice miso labelled gluten free, as some misos contain barley. This kombu and shiitake dashi is itself free of fish.
Why tofu is not a meat substitute but a carrier of flavour, and traditional Asian techniques to give it real depth and texture.
Fermented pastes, kombu and dried shiitake, tofu and high heat — four sources of flavour that stand in for meat in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cooking.
Learn to make dashi without bonito, tell the forms of tofu apart, and build a Japanese vegetarian meal from small plates.
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