Miso Shiru (Soup)

Posted by Judy | Bebe Love Okazu on March 30, 2010 in Blog, Family Favorites, Japanese Cuisine Favorites, Soup | Comments Off on Miso Shiru (Soup)

I knew it was going to be an odd day when I woke up hungry and was craving Japanese food.  (And, no, I am not preggo again!)

On my trips to Japan, I never could figure out why my peeps in the homeland enjoyed eating rice and miso soup for breakfast.  I admit to eating this for breakfast on a few occasions while traveling, but it was honestly because of jet lag.  I mean by the time it was breakfast there, it was really time for a late lunch back in California.

Growing up, we only ate rice and miso soup for dinner at my house.  For breakfast we ate Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, eggs, bacon, English muffins, and grapefruits.

So why I am having this unusual craving this morning?  Totally baffling…

I was thinking about a nice hot bowl of miso shiru (miso soup), leftover from last night’s dinner and a small bowl of takikomi gohan (mixed rice), also from last night.

That’s when I dropped the first bowl of water all over the stove, kitchen floor and of course a good splash on my jeans and sweater too.

I was about to heat-up a bowl of water in the microwave to warm a bottle for bebe E when it happened.

*Sigh*

Definitely, something is off – – – me.

What was worse, is that I did it again.

The second time I knocked over the bowl of water on the counter as I was turning around.  This spill wasn’t so bad as it was mostly contained on the counter, and it didn’t splash on my clothes.

*Sigh*

So after feeding bebe E, I warmed up a few bites of takikomi gohan (recipe to follow in a future post) and a nice bowl of miso shiru.

I felt so much better after sipping my bowl of miso shiru with tofu and wakame (seaweed).

It was warm, comforting, and on a dreary day like today – – – it really warmed my soul.

Miso Shiru

• 5 cups water
• 1 1/4 teaspoon katsuo dashi (dried bonito seasoning, pellet form)
• 1/4 cup white miso paste
• 2 tablespoons dried and cut wakame (seaweed)
• 1/2 block of soft tofu
• Chopped green onions for optional garnish

My miso soup is  just like my mom’s.  It’s quick and simple.

There is one difference though.  She slices onions and boils them with the water to add extra flavor to the broth.  I usually don’t add the onions because big onechan isn’t a huge fan of them, but I definitely recommend trying it.  It really does add good umami to the soup.

Boil water and add katsuo dashi.

Yes, I use the commercialized, pelletized katsuo dashi.  I think its great, and convenient for families and folks who don’t have the time to make their dashi (seasoning base) from scratch.  I do however, use no MSG dashi.  It’s sometimes hard to find, but if you read the labels carefully they’re sold at most all Japanese food specialty markets.

SHOPPING TIP: I realized that a lot of the product photos I take show the packages in all Japanese language.  On the back, however, there’s usually a label in English with the name of the product and ingredients.  I know that not all of you read Japanese and it can be intimidating to shop, but trust me, there are always really helpful sales people willing to answer questions and help you find and item, and usually the markets do a good job of writing the English-Japanese version of an item, such as “katsuo dashi”.

Add white miso paste.  I prefer white miso over the darker variety because its flavor is more mild.

After the miso paste has dissolved, add dried wakame and watch it expand into soft, delicate kelp.  Yum!

Add diced tofu and let it heat through.  I add this last because I prefer soft tofu and it can break very easily while stirring the soup and I like my tofu served in pretty little squares.  :)

Serve hot, garnished with green onions.

Yummy for the tummy, and soul!

Judy | bebe mama