Miso Soup

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Ever since coming back from a 2-week trip to Japan, I’ve been exploring Japanese cuisine more in-depth. I attended a cooking class, where our instructor introduced us to the varieties of miso. The instructor had studied and practiced cooking abroad, in France, and had perspective of Japanese cuisine abroad and domestically.

Before the introduction to miso, she gave an impassioned rant about how miso soup was appropriated internationally. In her time in France, she visited a Japanese restaurant that was run by non-Japanese, who were not interested in the cultural aspects of the cuisine: they were cashing in on the popularity but not giving it the respect it deserves. Their miso soup recipe was created by missing chicken stock with miso paste and calling it a day.

Varieties

Miso comes in many types. While there is no strict rule, they cannot be carelessly substituted for one another. The difference is miso can be compared to the differences in hot sauces: sure you could substitute but it’s going to bring a different set of flavours that you’ll need to account for.

I recall tasting white, brown and red miso:

  • White miso is very mild and fragrant, very nutty flavour. It tastes similar to nut butters or tahini. This makes sense, as it likely does not undergo much fermentation and is simply ground into a paste, like nut butters.
  • Darker brown or red miso. This one was reminiscent to Chinese fermented black beans. I’m very confident these are similar processes and could probably be substituted for each other in respective dishes.
  • Brown miso, which tasted like the predominant flavour that is front and center in miso soup at restaurants.

More details can be found in Wikipedia article.

Miso Soup Recipe

Miso soup is comprised of 3 components:

  • dashi
  • miso
  • fillings

Dashi is a stock made from primarily kombu (kelp) and bonito flakes (smoked tuna). In a pinch, there are instant dashi powders, similar to bouillon.

Technique

This recipe is from Just One Cookbook.

  1. Make dashi.
  2. Add dense ingredients before bringing dashi to a boil.
  3. Once boiling, add quick-cooking ingredients.
  4. Reduce temperature and add miso. Mix thoroughly, using a whisk. Do not boil, this will boil away aromatics.
  5. Add garnishes and serve.

The general ratio of miso paste to stock is 1:10, by weight. This is the more concentrated end, so it may need more stock to adjust.