Miso soup can be made as a breakfast, an appetizer, a stand-alone soup course, or a full entree. Its presence in Japanese cooking runs the gamut from home cooking to high cuisine. Learn the basics of making your own miso soup and then explore many delicious and seasonal variations!
If you've never eaten it before, miso is a paste that is made by fermenting soybeans. The result is a high-protein, vegetarian foodstuff that can be used in lots of different ways: in sauces, as a spread and as a main ingredient in soup. To make miso from scratch takes from one to three years, so just about everyone who cooks with it buys a ready-made form. Miso will keep for many months in the refrigerator, so it's easy to have it fresh and ready for cooking.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces dried soba noodles
- 2 - 4 tablespoons miso paste (to taste)
- 2 - 3 ounces firm tofu (2 handfuls), chopped into 1/3-inch cubes
- a handful of watercress or spinach, well washed and stems trimmed
- 2 green onions, tops removed thinly sliced
- a small handful of cilantro
- a pinch of red pepper flakes
Direction
1. Cook the soba noodles in salted water, drain, run cold water over the noodles to stop them from cooking, shake off any excess water and set aside.
2. In a medium sauce pan bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and remove from heat. Pour a bit of the hot water into a small bowl and whisk in the miso paste - so it thins out a bit (this step is to avoid clumping). Stir this back into the pot. Taste, and then add more (the same way) a bit at a time until it is to your liking. Also, some miso pastes are less-salty than others, so you may need to add a bit of salt here. Add the tofu, remove from the heat, and let it sit for just a minute or so.
3. Split the noodles between two (or three) bowls, and pour the miso broth and tofu over them. Add some watercress, green onions, cilantro, and red pepper flakes to each bowl and enjoy.