Red Miso Soup with Tofu, Mushrooms, and Seaweed

[joelbct]

I made Miso Soup with tofu, shitake mushrooms, and nori and wakame seaweed yesterday.

 

Went to an Asian Supermarket, which is apparently the best place to find dried asian mushrooms, seaweed, good miso, and tofu at reasonable prices. I used Hanamaruki Red Miso and Dae Han tofu.

 

10 cups of water

1 cup Red Miso (or more or less, to taste)

20 dried shitake mushrooms

1 package firm tofu

5 strips nori seaweed

10 teaspoons wakame seaweed

2 tablespoons soy sauce (optional)

 

Heat the water to lukewarm temperature, turn off heat, and let mushrooms soak 25 minutes. Remove mushrooms from water, and chop them.

 

Separate 2 cups or so of the mushroom stock into a mixing bowl, add miso and whisk until Miso amalgamates.

 

Return remaining 8 cups of mushroom stock to boiling, reduce to simmer.

 

Dice tofu into small cubes. Shred nori seaweed strips, add to mushroom stock with wakame. Be careful not to simmer the seaweed more than 5 minutes or it will lose some of its seaweedy flavor. Add miso, soy sauce, and diced tofu. Turn off heat, and serve. (serves 10)

 

I will take a picture next time, this was fantastic!

 

-Joel

Edited October 26, 2006 by joelbct

[loveliberate]

Sounds very tasty & nutritious! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

[pelicanAndrew]

I wanna cook some tofu tonight. Maybe my friends will let me use their kitchen. I have 2 lbs in the fridge.

[Kathryn]

Yummy!

Miso is sooo good in the winter.

 

The only change I would make to the recipe is not boiling the miso. You should always add miso after the soup stock has finished whatever boiling it has to do, mix the miso with a bit of room temp water to smooth it out, then add to the soup stock (after taking it off the stove). Boiling miso destroys the enzymes in it and the live cultures.

[Honey]

The only change I would make to the recipe is not boiling the miso... Boiling miso destroys the enzymes in it and the live cultures.

mmmmm, I love Miso!

Thanks for the good advice, Kathryn =)

[joelbct]

The only change I would make to the recipe is not boiling the miso..

 

Good point. I suppose I wasn't clear, I meant return the remaining 8 cups of mushroom stock to boiling, while you are separately whisking the miso together with 2 cups of the mushroom stock that you poured into a separate mixing bowl.

 

From what I understand, you don't want to simmer the seaweed or the miso for very long, else you will lose flavor and nutrients-

 

-Joel