Miso Soup

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Salty, savory miso soup, fragrant with scallions and poured over a bowl of rice and a poached egg -- this is comfort food at its finest. If you're looking for ways to make quick, simple supper, you'll want to try this. You only need a few Asian cooking staples, which you can pick up at an Asian specialty grocery or in the ethnic foods aisle of most metropolitan supermarkets.

My husband and I have a semi-tradition of Miso Mondays -- eating miso soup after the indulgences of the weekend. But a bowl of miso soup alone doesn't do for dinner, so we've taken to eating it with a bit of rice and a poached egg. It's simple and so easy. A little protein, a little rice and a bowl of hot soup to cup on a winter's night.

This recipe puts together recipes for dashi soup stock and miso soup, and it will make enough for about eight bowls of miso soup -- plenty for two, with lunch leftovers. A note: If you're saving some for lunch the next day, leave out the tofu and scallions for that portion. Warm them in the soup at the last minute.

Believe it or not, this soup makes a splendid breakfast too!

Miso Soup with Rice and Poached Egg

Makes 8 servings of soup.

Dashi soup stock:

2 quarts water

One 3-inch square kombu (sea kelp)

3/4 cup bonito flakes

Miso Soup:

2 quarts dashi

1/2 cup miso paste

One 12-ounce block silken tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1 small bunch scallions, green tops sliced thin

For each bowl of soup:

1 cup cooked white rice (see how to how to cook brown rice)

1 large egg

Soy sauce

Chili garlic sauce

Sesame oil

To make the dashi:

Pour 2 quarts of water in a large saucepan. Have a separate 2-quart bowl ready to the side with a fine mesh strainer or piece of cheesecloth.

Place the kombu in the cold water. Turn the heat to high, and heat just to boiling. Turn off the heat and remove the kombu. Stir in the bonito flakes and steep for 5 minutes. Strain into the prepared bowl. Pour the strained liquid back into the pot.

To make the miso soup:

Bring the strained dashi to boiling. Ready the miso paste in a measuring cup or small bowl. After the broth has boiled, pour 1 cup hot broth into with the prepared bowl with the miso. Whisk until smooth and completely combined. Pour the miso and broth back into the pot and turn the heat to low. Whisk the miso until it is incorporated into the broth completely. Keep over low heat; do not let the broth boil after the miso has been added.

Stir in the tofu cubes and the sliced scallions, and heat just until warmed through.

To prepare a bowl of soup:

Place 1 cup cooked white rice in each soup bowl. Poach an egg for each bowl of soup. You can see how to poach an egg here. You can also poach an egg quickly in the microwave. (Alternatively, you can add an egg to a bowl of hot broth, cover it, and let stand for several minutes. I find that poaching the eggs separately on the stovetop is a little easier when serving more than one person.)

Pour about 1 cup of miso soup over the rice in each bowl, and place a poached egg on top. Serve with soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil.

 

Faith Durand is managing editor of TheKitchn.com, a nationally known blog for people who love food and home cooking

 

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