Cooking with miso has been on my culinary to-do list for some time now. I nearly caved and purchased some miso last November when I prepared a batch of amazing “Rich Chicken Soup.” Instead, for that recipe I combined miso broth with chicken stock, rather than adding miso to chicken stock as the recipe intended. I imagine, had I used the straight up miso, I would have achieved an even greater depth of flavor.
Finally, after encountering several recipes in which I hope to try utilizing miso, I invested in a package. This 12.1 ounce package of certified organic shiro miso (also called white miso) ran me about $12 at Whole Foods, though I imagine more affordable versions can be found at an Asian market or specialty grocer. The package also indicates that the miso should be refrigerated after opening, FYI,
The miso I used has the consistency of apple butter, and is prepared from aged and fermented rice and soybeans. My recipe called for 1/4 cup of it.
I did commit a somewhat major error when preparing this Miso Vegetable Soup. Apparently miso should not ever be boiled, as it kills both the aroma and healthy bacteria present in the ingredient. Ideally, miso should be dissolved in hot liquid, and then added back to one’s soup at the very end of the preparation, without allowing the pot to return to a boil.
Unfortunately I skimmed my recipe just a bit too quickly and missed that detail. My miso was added at the very beginning of the preparation, so sadly my miso underwent it’s fair share of boiling. It seemed a shame to dump it and start over, so I went with it and it tasted fine. Next time I won’t allow my miso to boil, however.
To my miso and chicken broth mixture, tonssss of veggies were added!
Corn, mushrooms, carrots.
Scallions, snow peas, baby spinach. Green goodness.
This soup came together very quickly!
I took a cue from the Taking on Magazines blog, which also posted about this recipe, by omitting the tofu and adding extra mushrooms instead. I actually kind of missed those soft little tofu chunks in my miso soup though, so I will probably add the tofu next time I make a miso soup recipe!
This Miso-Vegetable Soup recipe was quite tasty. I felt so healthy eating all those veggies, and the soup is also incredibly low in calories.
Lucky for me, a low-calorie soup meant I could could indulge in several pork potstickers on the side! (Man, THEY were seriously delicious.)
This was a really good dinner. Typically I am a big fan of miso soup but it is (WAS!) something that I enjoyed solely when dining out. At last, I was able to enjoy a really healthy and tasty version of it at home. I’ll call that a win.
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Miso Vegetable Soup
Adapted from All You
Ingredients
- 5 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup shiro, white, or golden miso
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/2 cup snow peas, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 packed cups baby spinach
- 1/2 cup sliced scallions
- 4 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice, OR extra mushrooms
Preparation
- In a large pot, bring broth to a simmer over medium heat. Remove 1/2 cup to a small bowl and whisk in miso until dissolved. SET ASIDE.
- Add carrots, mushrooms and corn to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add snow peas, spinach and scallions; cook for 1 minute. Stir in miso mixture. Simmer for 5 minutes, lowering heat if necessary to prevent boiling. Stir in tofu and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Ladle into bowls and serve.
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My rating: 7/10
(Probably would have been higher had I not accidentally boiled the miso!)
