Miso Soup Recipe

Soak kombu

Place 4 cups cold water and the kombu piece in a medium saucepan. Let kombu soak for 20–30 minutes (or up to overnight in refrigerator) to extract umami if you have time.

Heat and remove kombu

Slowly heat the water and kombu over medium heat. Just before the water reaches a gentle simmer (small bubbles appear around the edges, about 175–185°F / 80–85°C), remove the kombu with tongs or a slotted spoon. Do not let kombu boil — boiling can make the dashi bitter.

Add bonito flakes

Bring the liquid to a brief simmer, then add 1 cup bonito flakes. Turn off the heat after 30 seconds to 1 minute of simmering and let the flakes steep for 2–3 minutes until they sink.

Strain dashi

Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean saucepan or bowl, gently pressing the flakes to extract liquid but not forcing cloudiness. This yields about 3 3/4 to 4 cups dashi.

Return the strained dashi to a clean saucepan and warm gently over low-medium heat. Place miso paste in a small bowl or ladle. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the warm dashi into the bowl and whisk to dissolve the miso completely to make a smooth miso slurry (this prevents clumps). If using a small amount of red miso for deeper flavor, dissolve it together with the white miso in the slurry.

Stir the miso slurry back into the saucepan with warm dashi. Heat gently — do not boil after miso has been added (boiling destroys delicate flavors and probiotics). Add 1 tsp soy sauce and taste; adjust seasoning with an additional 1/2 tsp miso or soy sauce if desired.

Prepare tofu and wakame

While the dashi warms, drain and cut the silken tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Rinse the dried wakame briefly under cold water and let it rehydrate for 1–2 minutes; it will plump up (or add directly to hot dashi and it will rehydrate in the soup). Thinly slice the green onions, separating the white and green parts if you prefer.

Add tofu and wakame to the warmed miso dashi and heat just until warmed through (1–2 minutes). Avoid boiling. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with sliced green onions and a tiny drizzle (about 1 tsp) of toasted sesame oil per bowl if using. Sprinkle a pinch of shichimi togarashi for heat and aroma if desired. Serve immediately.