Nothing beats a steaming bowl of miso soup! It’s so easy to prepare and in just a few minutes you have a wonderful soothing soup. You can add other ingredients if you’d like… udon or soba noodles, shaved carrot, red pepper flakes, etc.

What is miso?
Miso paste is a naturally fermented soy paste. Different grains and ingredients are fermented along with the soybeans which will make the miso paste have a different taste and texture. Such as soybeans and sea salt (Hatcho), soybeans and brown rice (Genmai) or soybeans and white rice (Kome). Those are just 3 of the many ingredient/flavor combinations. That combined with the age or how long the miso has been fermented, will determine the color and taste (some miso pastes are mild, while others may be saltier). Miso paste may be fermented for up to 3 years, or as little as 1 month. The lighter the color the milder the flavor. I used red miso paste for my soup, but you can use any miso paste.

Miso Soup
2 servings

INGREDIENTS
4 cups of water
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi granules
2 1/2 Tablespoons red miso paste
1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
handful of spinach leaves, roughly chopped
handful of seasoned roasted nori
about 1/3 cup of enoki mushrooms
3 green onions, sliced thin rounds

METHOD
Prepare your ingredients so they are ready to put into soup.

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Turn heat off and add the dashi granules and miso paste into the pan. You never want to boil miso, as it is fermented and boiling will kill the healthy bacteria. Stir until it is completely dissolved. Next add your tofu, spinach, nori and green onions, stirring gently for a minute or so, until the spinach leaves are wilted and the tofu is warmed through. Serve and enjoy!