Making Miso

With so many people sick this time of the year, if you've never tried miso soup, give it a slurp. It's delicious and nutritious. Our family loves this Japanese soup. It's very easy to prepare or you can always buy the prepackaged dry soup mix. The bowl of food above is not miso, but soba noodles that I made with the extra dashi stock. Soba noodles are very healthy and a great alternative to traditional noodles. They are made from buckwheat. I added bamboo shoots packed in sesame oil and stir fried some Chinese broccoli. I recommend using a microplane when grating fresh ginger. Chris and I had this for lunch and it was good or as they say in Hawaii, "Ono!"

To make miso soup, you need the following ingredients:

1. Dried kombu (dried seaweed and I would try to find it at an Asian market where the price will be a fraction of what it will be at Whole Foods) Pictured in the center of the above photo.

2. Dried bonito flakes (also much cheaper at an Asian market) Also pictured above.

3. Miso paste

4. Green onions

5. Firm tofu

Optional: Shitake mushrooms and/or sliced water chestnuts

To make homemade miso soup, you will need to make dashi, which is basically a fish stock.

Dashi Ingredients

• 1 piece kombu (approximately 5 by 6 inches)
• 1 cup bonito flakes
• 5 cups cold water

Directions

Wipe konbu with a damp cloth to clean.

In a stock pot, place konbu and cold water over medium heat. Just before the water begins to boil (DO NOT BOIL!) pull off heatand let stand 5 minutes.

Remove konbu, and bring back to heat. Again, right before stock begins to boil, remove from heat and add the bonito flakes. When flakes sink to the bottom, strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. Dashi can hold in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Making Miso Soup

Wrap the block of tofu in 2 layers of paper towels and lay on a plate. Invert a second plate on top of the tofu and weigh down with a 28-ounce can. Leave for 20 minutes then cut the tofu into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes.

Heat the dashi in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When the dashi reaches 100 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, ladle 1 cup into a small bowl. Add the miso, and whisk until smooth.

Bring the remaining dashi to a bare simmer, approximately 10 minutes. Add the miso mixture and whisk to combine. Return to a slight simmer, being careful not to boil the mixture. Add the tofu and scallions and cook for another minute or until heated through. Remove from the heat, ladle into soup bowls and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown