Authentic Japanese Miso Soup Recipe: How to Make Easy Miso Soup

Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup that is made from a simple combination of dashi stock mixed with miso paste. Different ingredients can be added such as tofu, scallions, and vegetables. Miso soup is considered a staple in Japanese cuisine, and often served with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The combination of ingredients in miso soup give the soup an earthy, savory flavor with complementary textures.

• Stock. The base of miso soup is dashi stock, made with kombu and bonito flakes.
• Miso paste. Miso, a fermented paste made from a combination of soybeans, sea salt, and rice koji, is added to the dashi to make miso soup. The paste gives the soup a flavor known as umami—savory, with toasty, funky salty-sweet richness.
• Toppings. Once you have a basic miso soup, you can add various toppings: tofu, scallions, seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, leeks, clams, noodles, and green veggies all work well.

You can use any type of miso paste for miso soup. They are fermented for different amounts of time, resulting in different flavors. Here are three common types of miso paste:

• White miso paste (shiro miso): A light yellow miso, this is the mildest type of miso. It is fermented for a shorter period of time and less salty than other varieties. White miso has a delicate flavor and is the sweetest of all the miso pastes.
• Yellow miso paste (shinshu miso): Golden yellow in color, this is another mild miso that is fermented slightly longer than white miso. The longer fermentation time results in an earthier but more acidic flavor when compared to the other misos.
• Red miso paste (aka miso): This deep red miso is fermented for the longest amount of time and has the highest percentage of soybeans. Red miso is the most pungent miso with a salty and slightly bitter flavor. It should be used sparingly to avoid overwhelming the other flavors in a dish.

In Japan, miso soup is traditionally served by placing it in a small bowl and sipped without a spoon. To eat the solid ingredients in miso soup, the bowl is cradled in one hand, while chopsticks are used to pick up pieces of food like tofu and scallions.

When served at breakfast, the soup is usually served alongside rice, eggs, fish, and pickles. At lunch or dinner, miso soup is served along with the main course or enjoyed at the very end of a meal, as a way to help settle the food.

Dashi is a simple stock made of kombu (dried seaweed) and bonito (dried fish flakes). The kombu is cut into sheets and simmered in water, then steeped with bonito flakes, which are discarded before using. Dashi stock is then combined with miso paste to give miso soup deep umami flavors. For a shortcut version, instant dashi powder can be purchased from Asian markets.