Recipe: Miso Soup

The 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking

Joy of Cooking 2006 Now in its eighth edition and its 75th year, the Joy of Cooking brings you numerous 30-minute meals. For the first time ever, JOY gives you slow cooker recipes and tips. Especially important to busy households is a new section that teaches you to cook for a day and eat for a week! If your family is on the go, buy this modern classic now at Barnes & Noble, Powell's or Amazon.

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WHAT'S COOKING

A Recent Featured Recipe

Mind Your Miso

Miso is a fermented soybean paste used to season and thicken sauces, marinades, and salad dressings and, most commonly, to prepare broth for Miso Soup. Miso varies in strength but is always salty; use about 1 tablespoon miso to season 4 cups liquid or food and always blend the paste with a few tablespoons of the liquid before stirring it into the rest of the dish. Intense heat destroys the healthful enzyme in miso, so, when appropriate, add it at the end of cooking and avoid boiling. It comes in a variety of colors, from white to yellow to red, and textures, smooth or chunky, depending on the length of fermentation and the addition of grains such as barley or rice. It is commonly characterized as white, sweet, and mild (shiro in Japanese); medium golden or tan in color (chu); or pungent, dark red, or brown (aka)—which is good for marinades and should not be cooked for a long time. As a general rule, the darker the miso, the longer it has been fermented and the stronger and saltier it will taste. Lighter miso, fermented for a shorter period, is sweeter; barley miso is earthy and well aged. Refrigerate miso in a covered container, and use it within a few months for best flavor.

Miso Soup

Note: Numbers refer to pages in the cookbook. Many of the recipes can be found online by using our search feature.

Miso Soup

About 41⁄2 cups

Soak in cold water for 10 minutes:

(1 1⁄2 teaspoons dried seaweed [wakame] bits)

Drain, squeeze out the excess liquid, and divide the seaweed among 4 soup bowls. Heat in a medium saucepan over high heat:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Add and cook, stirring, until slightly browned:

2 to 3 shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced

1 small leek, white part only, thinly sliced on a diagonal

Pinch of salt

(1⁄2 teaspoon sake)

Cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Stir in:

4 cups Dashi, below

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Cook over medium-low heat just until warmed through. Place in a small bowl:

3 to 3 1⁄2 tablespoons red miso

Add about 1⁄4 cup of the warm dashi and whisk to dissolve the miso, then whisk this mixture back into the soup. Divide among the soup bowls:

(2 ounces firm tofu, cut into small cubes [about 1⁄3 cup])

Ladle the broth and vegetables into the bowls.

Becker Quick Miso Soup

2 1⁄2 cups

At Ethan and Susan’s house, this is a traditional sickbed treat.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat:

2 cups chicken broth

Stir in:

2 tablespoons instant miso, or 1 tablespoon fresh

(1 or 2 finely sliced mushrooms)

(1 or 2 finely chopped scallions)

Boil for 1 minute. Garnish each serving with:

A thin slice of lemon

Black pepper

(1 teaspoon Port)

(Dash of hot pepper sauce)

Dashi

About 4 cups

One of the bases of traditional Japanese cuisine and an essential component of Miso Soup, this stock is made quickly from two ingredients—kombu, or kelp, and katsuobushi, or dried bonito flakes, also referred to as smoky fish flakes—both of which can be found in Asian markets or health food stores. Dashi should not be boiled or cooked for too long, and it does not freeze well. If reheating, do not boil.

Combine in a saucepan over high heat:

One 5 x 4-inch piece kelp (kombu)

4 1⁄2 cups cold water

Bring almost to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat and stir in:

1⁄3 cup dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)

Let stand until the flakes begin to sink, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the kombu. Strain at once. Let cool uncovered, then refrigerate covered. Use within 4 to 5 days.

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The 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking

A Recent Featured Recipe

Mind Your Miso

Miso Soup