In the Kanagawa area where I live, it’s been a bit chilly in the morning when I get up to air out the apartment. Autumn is upon us. It is still dark outside, and that’s because I’m a morning person who would rather skip a hot bath and get enough sleep than stay up to smell like lavender and rosemary. So this morning I had a steaming bowl of sweet potato and egg white drop miso soup. Sigh.

For you, I would use a whole egg or two and top it with a thick pat of salted butter and extra grinds of black pepper. Miso goes well with butter, you see.

 

sweet potato, egg white

 

turnip root, turnip leaf, turnip stem

 

nameko mushroom, baby leafy greens

 

eggplant, green onion, wheat mochi

 

sweet potato, egg white, green onion, yuzu peel

 

chrysanthemum leaf, chrysanthemum stem, sweet white green onion

 

shitake mushroom, sweet green onion, shichimi peppers

That’s a rice ball from my neighborhood convenience store. So cute.

 

6 ways to make miso soup

I’ve listed them in the order of easy-ness. All are good, legitimate, highly Japanese, and produce tasty soup.

Every couple of years or so, I run into a dashi purist whose job it is to shame women for not making their dashi from scratch. (By the way, dashi is “a fundamental Japanese soup stock” made with dried kombu kelp, dried bonito and/or other fish flakes, and water.)

Everyone has their circumstances and preferences. You do you. I hope you might find something intriguing here.

 

one: instant miso soup

Pour hot water into instant miso soup powder/paste, mix, done.

 

 

↑ Shelves and shelves of instant miso soup ↑

↓ Reduced-salt options ↓

 

How is it that no matter how much hot water I add to my instant miso soup, it still tastes salty? I am fascinated by the saltiness of instant miso soup as I enjoy some at the top of a hill overlooking the foliage or on a park bench on a cold day.

 

freezing my behind

 

two: dashi-added miso

Add water to the pot over medium heat, bring to a boil, add the ingredients (such as vegetables, tofu, meats, eggs, seafood, seaweed, whatever you like in your miso soup). Once they are cooked, turn off the heat. Add dashi-added miso and heat it through but do not let it boil, done.

I don’t buy dashi-added miso, but I hear it is easy to use and tastes good. My friend’s mom has been making delicious soups with dashi-added miso for decades.

I imagine you can use dashi-added miso to make sauces, dressings, and stir-fries. Wouldn’t it be fabulous in Sapporo-style miso ramen?

 

 

 

three: dashi-less (no dashi)

Put water in a pot, bring to a boil, add ingredients, when they are cooked turn off the heat and add miso, heat it through but do not let it boil, done.

I like to go dashi-less with umami-rich ingredients such as mushrooms and tomatoes.

 

↑ my dashi-less bowl of nameko mushrooms and baby leafy greens ↓

 

four: dashi powder

Put dashi powder and water in a pot over medium heat, when it comes to a boil add ingredients, when they are cooked turn off the heat and add miso, heat it through but do not let it boil, done.

Dashi powder will come in handy when you make gyu-don (beef rice bowl), katsu-don (pork cutlet rice bowl), oyako-don (chicken and egg rice bowl), and other -don dishes. I love love love anything-don.

 

 

five: dashi bags

Put water and a dashi bag in a pot over medium heat, bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for a few minutes, remove the dashi bag and discard, add ingredients, when they are cooked turn off the heat and add miso, heat it through but do not let it boil, done.

The few times I bought dashi bags, they expired before I used them. Oh well. Many people here swear by dashi bags though, including my aunties.

 

 

six: made-from-scratch (with dried kombu kelp and bonito flakes)

Put water and kombu in a pot and set aside for an hour or more. Heat over medium heat, remove kombu before the water starts to boil, when it boils turn the heat off. Add dried bonito flakes and heat and gently boil for a minute. Turn the heat off and let it stand for a few minutes. Strain through a tea strainer or a sieve lined with paper. Dashi is done. (I freeze mine in small containers.)

Cook ingredients in dashi, turn off the heat and add miso, heat it through but do not let it boil, done.

I make my dashi from scratch because (a)I like the taste, (b)I don’t have small children, (c)I have created a system that makes cooking not exhausting, and (d)I can. I cook a super low-fat diet for myself due to a hereditary condition. The taste of homemade dashi seems to shine through the less robust ingredients I get to work with. You don’t need top-grade kombu kelp or bonito flakes, by the way. My ingredients are inexpensive and procured at a regular supermarket, but the dashi still turns out delicious.

 

potato, egg white, sweet green onion, shichimi

 

sweet potato, egg white, chrysanthemum leaf, black pepper

 

Everyday miso soup inspiration

A classic bowl of miso soup with small bits of seaweed and tofu is good, but I prefer something more substantial. Let me show you a few options, courtesy of this beautiful web page “365 Bowls of Miso Soup with Recipes ” by FUNDKIN. I love looking at their photos.

One miso soup for each day of the year

・Broccoli and atsu-age (thick deep-fried tofu)
・Chinese chives and atsu-age (thick deep-fried tofu)
・Fiddlehead and atsu-age (thick deep-fried tofu)

・Potato, egg, and bacon
・Potato, butter, and corn

 

365 Bowls of Miso Soup with Recipes Calendar

You can also check out the soups for the dates that have special meaning to you. Or try random dates and see what soups you get.

Bon appétit.

 

本日のスペシャル

一日一新：（人間関係に関する）新しい発見
一日一冊：Union Square & Co「Poems of Love」、Marion Franklin「What would a wise person do?」各少々。