Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Miso Soup


The other day it was a bit chilly here in Portland and I wanted something warm and yummy for dinner. That thought led me to the kitchen, I opened the cupboard and then shut it thinking I hope there is something in the fridge to eat because there is nothing here, well I was welcomed by a very empty refrigerator, but low and behold there was my miso paste! Whenever I’m at the Asian market I pick up a container of miso paste, it keeps forever, it makes delicious soup, and it’s really inexpensive. After my amazing find in the back corner of my fridge, I once again scoured the cupboard to see what I could doctor up the soup with and I just happened to have a few dried shitake mushrooms, a handful of rice noodles and a package of dried seaweed, hurray, dinner was officially started. This is such an easy soup to make, and you can really add anything you like or just add a bit of miso paste to water and have a very simple, but yummy meal.

Miso Soup

4 Cups Water
½ Cup Miso Paste
Handful Rice noodles
6 Dried Shitake Mushrooms
Dried Seaweed (a little goes a long ways!)
Anything else you like…scallions, tofu, shrimp…

Soak the rice noodles in hot water for a few minutes to soften, drain and rinse with cold water, keep in water so they don’t stick together. Soak the dried mushrooms in a bowl with hot water until reconstituted, about 5 minutes, drain, remove stems, and cut into thin slices.
Bring the water to a boil, turn off heat and then add miso paste and stir until completely dissolved, add all other ingredients and stir again to incorporate them into the soup. Place into 4 small bowls, for a starter, or a large bowl for dinner.
I also love to add a little siracha, and rice vinegar to my soup, but that’s just me…so do what you like!


5 comments:

  1. Nice job on the soup - it looks fabulous.

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  2. I'm so glad you posted this recipe! You won't believe this, just yesterday, my daughter and I went to Uwajimaya and I looked at their miso products. I didn't purchase any, though, because the container was large and I didn't know how long it would keep! I love miso soup, and yours looks great! Looks like another trip to Uwajimaya is in store for me!

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  3. I love miso soup -- I always think of it as the Japanese equivalent of the cure-all chicken soup I grew up with.

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  4. Pam, thanks for the complement!
    Paula, the miso paste lasts forever, seriously I have never had it go bad!
    Lydia, It is so much like the chicken soup, warm comforting and absolutley delicious, except it's a lot less work!

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  5. Oh yummy recipe! And just in time for winter (HA!). This sounds like an excellent comfort food dish. Thanks Jason!

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