Miso Soup Recipe

Prepare kombu dashi

Wipe the kombu gently with a damp cloth (do not rinse vigorously). Place 800 ml cold water and kombu in a medium saucepan. Let soak 20–30 minutes if time allows to extract flavor, or proceed immediately for a faster result.

Heat the water and kombu over medium heat. Just before the water reaches a simmer (small bubbles appear at the edge, about 60–80°C), remove the kombu to avoid bitterness. Do not let it boil with the kombu in place.

Bring the liquid to a gentle boil, then remove from heat. Add the bonito flakes (15 g), stir once to submerge, and let steep for 3–5 minutes until flakes sink.

Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean pot or bowl, pressing lightly on the flakes to extract flavor. This yields about 800–900 ml of clear dashi. (If short on time, you can make a quick dashi by soaking kombu in 200 ml warm water for 10 minutes, then combining with a cup of hot water and adding bonito flakes.)

Rehydrate wakame: place the dried wakame (6 g) in a small bowl and cover with ~30–50 ml warm water for 5–10 minutes until it expands. Drain and squeeze gently to remove excess water, then roughly chop if large.

Prepare tofu: drain and pat the tofu dry. Cut into 1–1.5 cm cubes (about 200 g total).

Prepare mushrooms (if using): wipe shiitake caps with a damp cloth, trim stems, and slice thinly (about 60 g).

Slice green onions thinly on the bias, separating the white and green parts; reserve greens for garnish.

Return the strained dashi to a medium pot and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Keep temperature below boiling.

If using mushrooms, add the sliced mushrooms to the simmering dashi and cook 2–3 minutes until tender.

Add the tofu cubes and rehydrated wakame to the pot and heat gently for 1–2 minutes to warm through.

Dissolve and add miso

Place 60 g miso paste in a small bowl. Ladle about 60 ml of the hot dashi into the bowl and whisk or stir until the miso is fully dissolved and smooth (this prevents lumps and preserves miso flavor). Turn off the heat under the pot (simmering liquid should not be boiling when miso is added). Add the dissolved miso back into the pot, stirring gently to combine. Heat very gently for 30–60 seconds — do NOT boil after adding miso to avoid destroying delicate flavors and beneficial enzymes.

Taste and adjust: if the soup needs more saltiness, add a small extra spoonful (5–10 g) of miso dissolved in a bit of dashi. If too salty, add a splash (30–60 ml) of hot water or more dashi.

Ladle the hot miso soup into bowls and garnish with the reserved green onion slices. Serve immediately.