Miso Soup – the Secret of Japanese Kitchen

/ Basic

Why Miso Soup Always Comes with Rice

When I started to learn cooking from my mother, the very basic recipe was miso soup. You can put any kind of vegetables, tofu, seaweed and even meat. Traditional Japanese dinner consists of a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup, a main dish and a side dish. It is said that miso contains essential amino acid that our body needs, which we can’t take from rice. That is one of the reasons that Japanese people always eat rice and miso soup together.  

Lactic Acid

Fermented food is getting more and more noticed in recent years. Miso is also fermented food that contains lactic acid bacteria. It plays a role in suppressing the growth of bad bacteria in the intestines and balancing the intestinal flora. In addition to improving bowel movements, it is said to have various functions such as lowering cholesterol and enhancing immune function.

Lactic acid bacteria plays a fantastic role in our body, but you may want to remember that it dies when it is cooked in high temperature. Specialists recommend to put miso into the soup when the temperature of water has dropped till 50℃ (122℉). When preparing miso soup, first cook the ingredients in the boiling water. Then, turn off the heat and let it sit for about 10 minutes before putting miso into the pan.

Let’s Cook Miso Soup

Ingredients (for 2 bowls)

  • Water: 2 cups
  • Tofu: 100 ~ 150g
  • Spring onion: 15cm
  • Miso: 1.5 table spoon
  • Soup stock like bouillon: half of a tea spoon

* hint for ingredients: you can make miso soup with any kind of vegetables and any amount. I recommend half cup of dense vegetables like potatoes or 1 cup of leaves like cabbages.

Steps

  1. Wash the spring onion and cut it into thinly round slices
  2. Cut the tofu into 1cm dices
  3. Boil the water in a sauce pan
  4. Put the spring onion into the boiling water
  5. Boil the spring onion until it’s cooked (for about 5 minutes) at medium-low heat
  6. Add the tofu into the pan and cook for 1 minute
  7. Turn off the heat and add bouillon/soup stock
  8. Let it sit for about 10 minute
  9. Add miso and melt it in the soup