Miso soup

Miso soup with miso, wakame, negi and aburaage

File:Miso soup packet.JPG

Miso soup packets

Miso soup (味噌汁, miso shiru in Japanese) is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called "dashi" into which is mixed softened miso paste. Although the suspension of miso paste into dashi is the only characteristic that actually defines miso soup, many other ingredients are added depending on regional and seasonal recipes as well as personal preference.

Miso paste

Main article: Miso

The choice of miso paste for the soup defines a great deal of its character and flavour. Most miso pastes can be categorised into red (akamiso), white (shiromiso), or black (kuromiso), with darker pastes having a heartier, saltier flavour. There are many variations within these themes, including regional variations, such as Sendai miso; pastes designed to be used with specific misoshiru ingredients, such as yasaimiso, a white miso for use with miso-vegetable soup; and seasonal variations.

Stock

Main article: Dashi

The most common dashi soup stocks for miso soup are made of niboshi (dried baby sardines) or kelp (konbu) with thin shavings of katsuobushi (dried and smoked skipjack tuna). Sometimes, however, kelp or shiitake vegetarian dashi stocks are used. Outside of Japan, American or European style miso soup is sometimes made by dissolving miso in a western vegetable stock. The stock might include ingredients such as negi, carrot, potato and daikon radish. In some versions of the dish - which may be considered interesting variations or bastardisations by the Japanese, depending on who one asks - chicken stock, Western-style fish stock, and other non-dashi bases can even be used, but there is some debate over whether or not miso soups made using these non-traditional bases count as true misoshiru. Christian Japanese refugees who came to the Philippines during the Edo period brought along miso soup, which has become a staple of Philippine cuisine, but the Filipino recipe differs mainly by the inclusion of tamarind, which gives it a more sour taste than the original Japanese version.

Solid ingredients

According to Japanese custom, the solid ingredients are chosen to reflect the seasons and to provide contrasts of color, texture, and flavor. Thus negi and tofu, a strongly flavored ingredient mixed with a delicately flavored ingredient, are considered a good combination. Ingredients that float, like wakame seaweed, and ingredients that sink, like potatoes, are also good combinations. No two solid ingredients should have the same color, texture, or flavor. That way, all the ingredients will contribute uniquely to the soup. Ingredients range from mushrooms to potatoes, from seaweeds to onion, and from shrimp or fish to grated or sliced daikon. Nearly any Japanese ingredient can be and is added to some type of misoshiru. Typically, however, misoshiru does not contain very many ingredients beyond the stock and miso.

If pork is added to miso soup, it is called tonjiru, meaning "pork soup".

Preparation and serving

Miso soup can be prepared in several ways, depending on the chef and the style of soup. Japanese recipes usually call for most vegetables to be cooked in the simmering dashi, particularly mushrooms, daikon, carrots, potatoes, tofu, and fish. The miso is suspended separately in some dashi stock removed from the simmering mix, kept relatively cool (still hot, but below boiling) to keep the miso paste from cooking, which alters the flavour (there is some belief that cooking the miso "kills" it and reduces the health benefits of biologically active miso paste). When the vegetables are cooked, the stock is removed from heat, the miso suspension is added and mixed into the soup, any uncooked ingredients are added, and the dish is served.

In Japan, miso soup and white rice make up the central dishes of the traditional Japanese breakfast, and so most Japanese people eat miso soup at least once a day. The soup has been a favorite of commoners and royalty alike for many centuries.

The soup is usually served in lacquer bowls with lids and drunk directly from the bowl, though the solid ingredients are eaten with chopsticks.

Instant miso soup

Instant miso soup is available in single-serving packets, and generally contains dried wakame and tofu that reconstitute rapidly on the addition of hot water. These are popular in the Japanese workplace, where miso soup can be made with lunch as easily as green tea, and using the same water. Instant miso soup is also available in many grocery stores outside of Japan. These have an expiration date between 3-12 months.

External links

• Miso soup recipe
• Keiichiro's Misunderstanding Thoughts of a native Japanese on soup in Japan and soup in the west.
• Varieties of Miso Soup and Miso Soup by Season from Ajinomoto, an influential Japanese food company.
• Kosher Miso soup recipe chabad.org