Miso Soup
Have you experienced Miso Soup? It is something that comes from deep in my past West Coast days. There, i discovered that Miso Soup worked for me like Chicken Soup does for many people -- it is the thing i craved when feeling 'off'. I always order Miso Soup when i go out for Japanese food.
The healthiness of the broth -- it must be filled with electrolytes or something -- just feels restorative. And the very few little blocks of tofu with the very few little round slices of spring onion that settle at the bottom of the bowl give you a little treat to pick up with your chop sticks, after having slurped the broth from the small bowl.
Miso Soup is like a metaphor for excellent food -- very simple, but based upon excellent ingredients, lightly messed with. What you need is a broth, some miso, some katsuo-bushi (dried bonito flakes), some dried seaweed (kombu).
Then you add the accessories such as tofu and thinly sliced vegetables.
It is this simplicity which makes Miso Soup so special. Here in Norway there is a not-bad sushi restaurant chain but they offer Miso Soup loaded with seafood or loaded with vegetables. It made me wonder if nordmen don't see value in the soup if it is not loaded with ingredients. Hmm.
Recipe
Stock.
You can start with either a chicken stock or a vegetable stock. I tend to use chicken but don't fuss too much (unlike in the movie Tampopo where the master spent all his attention on the stock!), This is a broth that only tastes correct when all the small flavours are present and combine, so use a good stock if you can.
Boil the stock and add a small amount (several tablespoons) of bonito flakes, and a small handful of seaweed. Reduce the boil but not to a simmer and let them boil for one minute only. Immediately take the pan off the heat and pour the stock through a sieve, returning the liquid to the pan. Let it simmer for a few minutes and your stock is ready to work with. Let it simmer for longer and it will be even better.
Assemble the soup.
When it is ready, add a small handful of kelp or other dried seaweed, a tablespoon of thinly-sliced green onions, and the same amount of another thinly-sliced vegetable -- i like to use those thin sweet red peppers, thinly sliced across the body.
Take a bowl and put a teaspoon of your miso in the bottom. Then just ladle the soup into the bowl, making sure to have a few, but not too many of the additions. And serve!
See, it is simple, and for me, one of the most restorative foods.
enjoy!
The healthiness of the broth -- it must be filled with electrolytes or something -- just feels restorative. And the very few little blocks of tofu with the very few little round slices of spring onion that settle at the bottom of the bowl give you a little treat to pick up with your chop sticks, after having slurped the broth from the small bowl.
Miso Soup is like a metaphor for excellent food -- very simple, but based upon excellent ingredients, lightly messed with. What you need is a broth, some miso, some katsuo-bushi (dried bonito flakes), some dried seaweed (kombu).
Then you add the accessories such as tofu and thinly sliced vegetables.
It is this simplicity which makes Miso Soup so special. Here in Norway there is a not-bad sushi restaurant chain but they offer Miso Soup loaded with seafood or loaded with vegetables. It made me wonder if nordmen don't see value in the soup if it is not loaded with ingredients. Hmm.
Recipe
Stock.
You can start with either a chicken stock or a vegetable stock. I tend to use chicken but don't fuss too much (unlike in the movie Tampopo where the master spent all his attention on the stock!), This is a broth that only tastes correct when all the small flavours are present and combine, so use a good stock if you can.
Boil the stock and add a small amount (several tablespoons) of bonito flakes, and a small handful of seaweed. Reduce the boil but not to a simmer and let them boil for one minute only. Immediately take the pan off the heat and pour the stock through a sieve, returning the liquid to the pan. Let it simmer for a few minutes and your stock is ready to work with. Let it simmer for longer and it will be even better.
Assemble the soup.
When it is ready, add a small handful of kelp or other dried seaweed, a tablespoon of thinly-sliced green onions, and the same amount of another thinly-sliced vegetable -- i like to use those thin sweet red peppers, thinly sliced across the body.
Take a bowl and put a teaspoon of your miso in the bottom. Then just ladle the soup into the bowl, making sure to have a few, but not too many of the additions. And serve!
See, it is simple, and for me, one of the most restorative foods.
enjoy!
