Miso soup recipes contain miso paste. What is miso? It is a Japanese name for fermented soy bean paste.
The nutritional value of soy beans have been widely researched and many substances in these beans have been shown to help a wide range of diseases including stomach and prostate cancer, high cholesterol levels and menopause.
Soy protein is also most similar to meat protein, making it an ideal protein substitute for vegans.
However, soy beans do not cook well and many people have problems digesting and absorbing the nutrients. One way to overcome this is to ferment the beans.
Fermenting breaks downs the harmful substances in the beans and makes the soy proteins more digestible. Miso is produced by fermenting soy beans in a specific way.
Miso is an important food item in Japanese cuisine. Japanese chefs use it in soups, stews, marinates, seasonings and dips. I believe there are many recipes with miso in them but the most common is, of course, the miso soup.
Miso is very easy to find in the supermarkets. It is therefore quite common in home kitchens.
I love the small bowl of basic miso soup with its signature colour, small soft cubes of silken tofu and thin healthy strips of wakame seaweed. Not sure why it goes so well with Japanese short grain rice. It just do.
There are many types of miso pastes especially in different regions of Japan. There are white miso, red miso and brown miso. The darker the color, the more flavoursome the miso paste. Miso soups, I believe, is usually made with white miso where the flavour is lighter and more subtle.
Photo source: richardmasoner
If you are thinking of buying some, you might like to take a look at these miso pastes selling at Amazon. I like the Eden Mugi Miso with organic barley added and Eden Genmai Miso with brown rice added.
The traditional base for miso soup is dashi stock.You can make it from scratch with kombu or kelp and bonito flakes. Click here to learn how to make dashi from scratch.
You can also buy ready-made dashi packets or granules from major supermarkets. Follow the instructions on the packaging to make the stock. It is quicker and more convenient but may contain more salt and monosodium glutamate.
Miso is not just for miso soups. I sometimes substitute the soup packets in my instant or ramen noodle with miso paste instead. It gives a richer flavour and I am sure it has less monosodium glutamate. A pseudo miso ramen. (^_^)
3 tips to a good miso soup
Follow these 3 simple tips when making miso soup:
- After the miso paste is added, turn the heat up and cook till the soup comes back to a boil
- Turn the heat off immediately after the miso soup comes back to the boil. The distinct flavour of the miso is cooked away if the miso is allowed to boil for too long
- Choose miso paste with reduced salt to make miso soup. If you think the flavour is not strong enough, choose a stronger-flavored miso rather than add more miso paste
- Use a combination of miso pastes to create a more complex miso soup
3 recipes
Try these recipes with miso.
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