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Miso soup served ready to eat.

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Miso soup

Yield
4 servings

This small soup teaches two things you will use again and again: dashi, the quick broth of kelp and smoked bonito that sits under much of Japanese cooking, and the one rule of miso, which goes in last and never boils. Once you have both, it is an easy weeknight side for any rice meal.

Ingredients
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Ingredients

Servings
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4 servings · US measures · 1 batch

Batching

Make one batch in each 3-quart saucepan; for a larger yield, use a second saucepan. Soaking, steeping and warming times and cues do not multiply with ingredient quantities.

Original recipe: 4 servings.

Extra miso and the optional extra hot water are to taste and excluded from the base nutrition scenario. White miso is the selected miso. Nutrition is incomplete because the flavor extracted from the removed kombu and strained bonito, the water left in the dashi and the dried wakame mass are not established.

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Before you start

  • Read through the recipe before heating the saucepan. Gather the saucepan, lined strainer and bowl, small bowl, whisk, ladle, slotted spoon, thermometer and the measured ingredients.

Directions

1

Read and gather

For the whole recipe

Read through the recipe and gather the equipment. Use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything. Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth but leave its white powder on, because that powder carries flavor. Everything is prepared and measured before the saucepan goes on the heat.

2

Soak the kombu

For each saucepan of soup

Soak 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) in about 4 1/2 cups cold water in a 3-quart saucepan until it softens and swells, about 30 minutes.

3

Heat the kombu slowly

For each saucepan of soup

Heat the saucepan over medium-low heat until tiny bubbles cling to the kombu and the sides of the pan and the water smells faintly of the sea, about 10 minutes. Lift out the kombu just before the water starts to simmer.

4

Steep the bonito flakes

For each saucepan of soup

Steep the bonito flakes in the hot water. Bring the water in the 3-quart saucepan to a simmer over medium heat, then turn off the heat. Add about 2 cups bonito flakes (katsuobushi) all at once and let them steep without stirring until they sink to the bottom, about 2 minutes.

5

Strain the dashi

For each saucepan of soup

Strain the dashi through the lined strainer into the bowl and let it drip without pressing the flakes. Rinse the saucepan and pour the dashi back in. The dashi is clear and pale gold.

6

Heat the dashi and warm the tofu and wakame

For each saucepan of soup

Heat the dashi over medium heat until it steams and trembles without bubbling. Add 1 tbsp dried cut wakame seaweed and the tofu, and warm them until the wakame unfurls and turns bright green, about 1 minute. Stir gently from here on so the tofu keeps its shape.

7

Turn off the heat and dissolve the miso

For each saucepan of soup

Turn off the heat. Whisk 3 tbsp white miso (shiro) with a ladleful of the hot dashi in the small bowl until smooth, then stir it back into the saucepan. If lumps remain, hold the strainer, without its liner, in the soup and push them through with the back of a spoon. The miso is fully dissolved, with no lumps.

8

Taste and adjust

For each saucepan of soup

Taste the soup. Aim for savory and gently salty, with a smoky, sea-air depth and a round, fermented sweetness. If it tastes thin or flat, whisk in white miso (shiro) to taste, a little at a time, the same way. If it tastes too salty, stir in extra hot water to taste. If the soup cools, rewarm it over low heat only until it steams; never let it boil once the miso is in. The soup tastes savory and gently salty.

9

Ladle and serve

For the whole recipe

Ladle the soup into bowls to make 4 servings, dividing the tofu and wakame evenly with the slotted spoon, and top each bowl with green onions. Serve right away. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours, and reheat them gently, without boiling, until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F (74°C). The soup is portioned and topped.

About this recipe

Research preview: these details come from our sourced research and haven't been reviewed by our chef yet.

Why it works

Warming the kombu gently and lifting it out before the water simmers keeps the dashi clean, and a short steep of bonito flakes adds smoky depth without bitterness. The miso is whisked into a little hot dashi off the heat, so it dissolves smoothly and keeps its aroma.

Associated with

Japanese

Miso soup is the soup in the Japanese meal of one soup and side dishes (ichiju-sansai), and with white rice it is at the center of the traditional Japanese breakfast. Regional miso, such as Shinshu and Sendai, gives each area its own version.

Taste

  • Sweet
  • Sour
  • Salty
  • Bitter
  • Savory
  • Heat

Kombu and bonito dashi gives a smoky, sea-air depth., White miso adds gentle salt and a round, fermented sweetness. · light, clear broth with soft silken tofu cubes and slippery wakame · hot

Skill level

Easy

A short, forgiving process. The one rule is not to boil the soup once the miso is in.

You'll practice: Make dashi: warm kombu gently, then steep bonito briefly, Strain without pressing, Dissolve miso off the heat in a little hot dashi, Warm silken tofu and wakame gently

Allergens

Contains: fish (skipjack tuna), soybeans.

Check the miso label for wheat. Plain bonito flakes are used here; instant dashi granules are a different product and can contain milk.

Diets

Vegetarian: Doesn't fit as written Pescatarian: Fits as listed Vegan: Doesn't fit as written Dairy: See the allergen lines Egg: See the allergen lines Gluten: See the allergen lines

Occasions

  • Everyday Japanese meals · everyday side

    Served with rice in a meal of one soup and side dishes (ichiju-sansai), including the traditional Japanese breakfast.

Course: soup-course, side-dish · Technique: steep, simmer, soak · Time: 30-to-60-minutes

Serving and keeping

Best served: Right after the miso is dissolved In bowls with the tofu and wakame divided evenly, topped with green onions

Make ahead: Warm the dashi and whisk in the miso just before serving.

Storage: Refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C). Plain dashi freezes for about 2 to 3 months for best quality; tofu changes texture when frozen, so freeze the dashi rather than the finished soup.

Leftovers: Best served right away; for later meals, keep the dashi and add the miso when serving.

Food safety

  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours (1 hour above 90 °F / 32 °C) and reheat to 165 °F (74 °C).

We make no statement about cross-contact in your kitchen or in packaged ingredients. Check the miso, tofu and seaweed labels.

Nutrition notes

Most of the sodium comes from the miso. Starting with less miso, and adjusting with dashi rather than more miso, keeps it lower.

Kombu is very high in iodine; frequent, large servings of kombu dashi can add a lot of iodine.

We don't show nutrition claims (like “good source of”) until our legal review is done.

Swap notes

  • bonito flakes (katsuobushi) · vegetarian or vegan

    Works with changes

    Use: dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked with the kombu from the start

    What changes: Soak them at least 30 minutes, then simmer the shiitake (not the kombu) about 10 minutes before straining.; The broth is earthier and less smoky.

    Not a swap: Instant dashi granules; they are not the same as the flakes and can contain milk.

  • bonito flakes (katsuobushi) · orthodox.fast_strict

    Works with changes

    Use: dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked with the kombu from the start

    What changes: The broth is earthier and less smoky.

    Not a swap: Instant dashi granules; they are not the same as the flakes and can contain milk.

  • white miso (shiro) · halal.general

    Works with changes

    Use: miso without added alcohol

    What changes: No change in taste.

    Not a swap: A miso that lists alcohol as a preservative.

  • white miso (shiro)

    Works with changes

    Use: less miso to start, or a reduced-salt miso

    What changes: Adjust with dashi rather than more miso.; The body is lighter.

    Not a swap: Soy sauce in place of miso, which salts the broth but gives it no body.

  • white miso (shiro) · different miso on hand

    Works with changes

    Use: red (aka), mixed (awase) or barley (mugi) miso

    What changes: Start low with red and barley miso, which are saltier.; Barley miso contains gluten; the allergen lines change.

    Not a swap: Soy sauce in place of miso, which salts the broth but gives it no body.

  • green onions · buddhist.five_pungent

    Works with changes

    What changes: Leave out the green onions.

    Not a swap: Chives or leek greens, which are also onion-family plants.

  • kombu (dried kelp) · no kombu on hand

    Works with changes

    Use: about half again as many bonito flakes, steeped the same way

    What changes: The broth is smokier and thinner.

    Not a swap: Sheets of nori, which break down into a murky green broth.

  • dried cut wakame seaweed · no wakame on hand

    Works with changes

    Use: a handful of baby spinach, or thinly sliced napa cabbage

    What changes: Spinach goes in with the tofu and wilts in seconds; napa needs about 2 minutes of simmering before the miso goes in.

    Not a swap: Dried hijiki, which needs a long soak and tastes of iron.

  • silken tofu · passover.ashkenazi

    Not recommended

    Not a swap: Miso and tofu are the soup, and both are kitniyot or chametz; no tested stand-in is recorded.

These notes don't change the amounts, allergens or nutrition shown for this recipe.

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Recipe url
https://isthebestrecipe.com/soups/miso-soup
Name
Miso soup
Servings
4
Recipe yield
4 servings
Recipe ingredient
1 piece kombu (dried kelp) about 4 by 6 inches (10 g), wiped with a damp cloth, white powder left on, about 4 1/2 cups cold water, about 2 cups bonito flakes (katsuobushi) loosely packed, 1 tbsp dried cut wakame seaweed, about 7 oz silken tofu cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 3 tbsp white miso (shiro), 2 whole green onions thinly sliced
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Miso soup