Miso Soup Recipe

Prepare kombu dashi

Wipe the kombu lightly with a damp cloth to remove any surface dust (do not rinse under running water). Place the 4 cups of cold water and the kombu in a medium saucepan and let soak for 10 minutes to help extract flavor.

After soaking, slowly heat the water and kombu over medium heat. Just before the water comes to a simmer (small bubbles forming around the edges, about 175–185°F / 80–85°C), remove the kombu. Do not let it reach a rolling boil with the kombu in it to avoid a bitter flavor.

Turn heat up and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer. Once simmering, add the bonito flakes, stir once, then immediately turn the heat off. Let the bonito flakes steep in the hot water for 3–4 minutes to infuse flavor.

Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean saucepan or bowl, pressing gently on the solids to extract flavor but not over-pressing (which can make the dashi cloudy). Discard solids. This yields about 4 cups of clear dashi.

Return the strained dashi to low heat. Place the miso paste in a small bowl or ladle and ladle about 1/2 cup of hot dashi into it. Whisk or stir until the miso dissolves completely to make a smooth slurry (this prevents lumps and boiling the miso).

Stir the miso slurry back into the pot with the remaining dashi over very low heat. Keep the soup warm but do NOT boil once miso has been added — boiling will degrade the delicate flavors and beneficial enzymes.

Taste the soup and, if desired, add up to 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce to adjust saltiness. Start with less — miso can vary in saltiness.

Rehydrate the wakame: place the 2 teaspoons dried wakame in a small bowl, cover with 1/4 cup cool water and let sit 3–5 minutes until expanded. Drain and gently squeeze out excess water, then chop if pieces are large.

Gently add the cubed tofu to the warm (not boiling) miso soup and simmer on the lowest heat for 1–2 minutes to warm through. Be careful when stirring so the tofu cubes don't break; use a gentle figure-eight motion with a spoon.

Add the rehydrated wakame and stir gently to combine. Heat for another 30–60 seconds until warmed through.

Remove pot from heat. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with the thinly sliced green onions. Serve immediately.