Hearty Miso Soup

We love miso soup, but I’m hesitant to order it out because so many places put fish flakes in their stock. It’s not easy to find miso in conventional grocery stores, but you can usually buy it at any organic market or Asian grocery store in your area. Check out this great post from Happy Herbivore on what miso is. 

When we make miso soup at home we usually add some extra ingredients to make it more of a meal. When we make it traditionally we usually eat it as a first course to some spring rolls or sushi or noodle/rice dish. Here’s our recipe for a heartier version:

Hearty Miso Soup
serves 2

Stock:
1 sheet kombu (a type of seaweed – again look for it at organic/Asian markets)
2-4 Tbsp miso paste of your choice
6-8 C water
Salt/soy sauce/Braggs to taste

1 package mushrooms, sliced
1 small head napa/green cabbage, sliced
½ package sprouted tofu (or whatever tofu you prefer), diced
1 bunch scallions, sliced thin
1 sheet seaweed, cut into bite size pieces (we use kitchen scissors for this)
Sesame oil
Ponzu or soy or Braggs or Nama shoyu
Cracked pepper

Heat water and kombu in a pot until it comes to a boil. Turn off and remove from heat. Add the miso once the stock is no longer boiling, you do not want to add miso to boiling liquid. I usually keep the hunk of miso on a spoon and stir it in or smash it against the side of the pot to get it to dissolve.

Let stock sit overnight if possible, if not, keep on very low heat just to keep it warm.

When you are ready to eat the soup, prep the rest of the ingredients. If you chilled your stock overnight, heat it gently while you cook everything else. In a frying pan, sear the tofu to get nice color and flavor. You can season it however you prefer, we use sesame oil spray to fry it, splash it with ponzu or soy while it cooks, and season with pepper.

Remove tofu from pan, split between two bowls for serving. Add cabbage and mushrooms to the tofu pan and sauté until the cabbage is slightly wilted. Again you can season to taste using sesame oil, ponzu/soy and pepper.

Add half of the pan to each bowl. Pour broth over each bowl, and add scallions and seaweed to taste. I also drizzle Sriracha on mine before I eat :)