Miso Soup Variation

Ingredients

30 half-inch cubes tofu

4 mushrooms sliced

2 stalk green onions chopped

4 cups water

2 teaspoons dashi (nomoto)

3 tablespoons miso - (to 4 tbspns) to taste

Preparation

Boil 4 cups of water and dashi. Add tofu and mushrooms, simmer gently about 3 minutes. Add miso and dissolve completely. Immediately turn off the heat and add chopped green onions, then serve.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Comments: This soup is served every morning in Japan, with the flavors of seasonal vegetables. There are several different kinds of miso paste available in the United States. Shiro-miso paste is a mild one and is low in salt. On the other hand, aka-miso is very salty and has a different, stronger fragrance than shiro-miso. Miso soup base is made out of a fish stock called dashi. You can purchase dashi at any Oriental food shop. You can enjoy almost any vegetable with this soup, from lettuce to snow pea pods. Here's a list of vegetables you might want to try in the miso soup.

Types of gu and preparation suggestions

Chinese cabbage, cut into bite-size squares or triangles Cabbage, cut into bite-size squares or triangles Lettuce, cut into bite-size squares or triangles Green onions, slicedOnions, slicedLeeks, sliced or choppedOkra, choppedButternut squash(*), thinly slicedSnow pea podsGreen beans(*)

Daikon(*), thinly slicedPotatoes(*), thinly slicedSweet potatoes(*), thinly slicedMushrooms, slicedBean sproutsTofu, cut into small cubesWakame seaweedNatto beans, minced

Not recommended: green pepper, celery (vegetables with strong flavor)

The above recipe uses tofu, green onions, and mushrooms.

Note: You have to cook the hard vegetables(*) longer, ten minutes or so. If you have a combination of soft and hard vegetables, add the soft vegetables later. The miso flavor will weaken if you overcook the miso.