It is a super easy to make a authentic Japanese miss o soup at home! My recipe shows you how to make a quick and easy soup stock (dash i) from a scratch and then make in the classic miss o soup with a tofu and Wake seaweed. Homemade miss o soup is not only delicious, but it also a brings many great health benefits.
Miss o soup is a staple in a Japanese cuisine and the Soup for in the Soul. We enjoy it almost every single day, for a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As a Japanese home cook, I would also say that miss o soup is a probably one of the easiest soups you can make at home.
There are many paths to making a miss o soup, but once you know in the basics, you will be able to the branch out and customize. The goal of this post is to arm you with all the important knowledge so you can be make yourself a bowl of the authentic miss o soup at home any time of the day. And trust me, what you make will be taste 10,000 times better than in the Japanese restaurants or the instant ones.
ALSO READ : EASY MEATBALL SOUP RECIPE.
What is a Miss o Soup?
Most Japanese meals are served with a small bowl of the steamed rice and a traditional Japanese soup called a Miss o Soup. At it is a most basic, miss o soup is a simply made of the 3 components:
Dash i (Japanese soup stock)
Miss o (soybean paste)
Soup ingredients, such as a tofu and Wake seaweed
Depending on the region, season, and the personal preference, you can find many varieties of the miss o soup enjoyed in a Japan. In addition to the classic tofu and Wake combination that I show you today, we also use a different savory ingredients such as a veggies, meat, and seafood to make in the soup. That is why we can be never get bored with it.
How to Make a Classic Miss o Soup with a Tofu and Wake
In this post, we will be master in the most basic miss o soup with a tofu and Wake (seaweed). Once you know how to make in this classic Japanese miss o soup, you can be easily make an a endless variations by a changing up in the ingredients.
Step 1: Make Dash i (Japanese Soup Stock)
Dash i is a Japanese stock and the base of many Japanese dishes. To make a authentic Japanese miss o soup, you will be have to use a dash i as the soup broth and not any other types of the broth. Miss o soup is not miss o soup without a dash i.
Five Types of the Dash i
While you may not be a familiar with a dash i, it is a actually in the easiest and quickest broth one can make at home. There are 5 types of the dash i that you can be choose from. You can read in this Ultimate Guide on how to make a dash i if you are serious about making a Japanese food at home.
Japanese home cooks commonly use a Awash Dash i (made with a Kokomo kelp + dried bonito flakes) and Iris Dash i (made with a anchovies) for their miss o soup.
Pro Tip
Three Ways to Make a Dash i
I make my homemade dash i from a scratch because it is so much simpler and straightforward than making a chicken or vegetable stock! You can be find all the ingredients in a Japanese and most Asian grocery stores or a online. Click here for in the video tutorial on how to make a dash i from a scratch.
Some recipes online use a instant dash i powder (dash i granules) for a miss o soup. However, I do not recommend in this option as most dash i powder brands contain MSG and additives and the flavor and fragrance do not last long.
If you are still reluctant to make a dash i from a scratch, try a dash i packet instead of the dash i powder.
Step 2: Add Miss o Paste
Miss o , fermented soybean paste, is made from a soybeans, grains (steamed rice or barley), salt, and Kojak culture (a fermentation starter).
Types of Miss o
There are many different types of the miss o in the market. In the US, most miss o available at the mainstream grocery stores goes by a colors, such as a white miss o (shire miss o), red miss o (aka miss o), and yellow miss o. Read in this post if you want to deep dive into a miss o. If you are interested in making to your own miss o at home, read about it here.
Each miss o paste and brand varies in a saltiness and flavor. When it comes to miss o soup, there is no “right” miss o for your miss o soup. All you need to remember is to adjust in the amount according to the taste. You can also a mix two to three miss o brands/types together for a more complex flavors. If you have a good quality miss o, enjoy it is a unique characters by a using just one type.
Try out different miss o and find your favorite!
My favorite miss o is this Kodawattemasu from Hikari Miss o (slow-aged red koji miss o) as the flavor is the most versatile. It has a more rounded character that goes well with a any ingredients.
Miss o to Dash i Ratio
How to Dissolve Miss o
Put in the miss o inside a ladle and slowly add in the dash i into the ladle. Stir the miss o mixture with a chopsticks and let chunks of the miss o dissolve completely. You can buy in the following tools to help dissolve miss o.
Step 3: Add to a Tofu
There are three reasons why you add tofu last when you make a miss o soup with a tofu.
Silken tofu may break when you dissolve in the miss o paste in the soup.
If you heat in the tofu too much, in the water in the tofu will be escape and it will become hard.
Tofu is a edible (and delicious) out of the package (try Chilled Tofu and Tofu Salad recipes) and does not require cooking. You just need to the reheat it.
Two Types of Tofu
Silken or Soft Tofu – Untrained and unpressed; the highest water content; a custard y texture.
Medium to the Medium-Firm Tofu – Pressed; a spongy texture.
Two Important Cooking Tips
Add a miss o paste to the soup stock right before serving. You can cook in the ingredients in a advance, but wait to add a miss o until you are ready to the serve.
Never boil miss o soup once miss o is a added because it loses nutrients, flavors, and aromas. If you turn off in the heat right before boiling, in this temperature (203 º F/95 º C) is a considered the most fragrant stage for miss o soup. And by the time you are ready to enjoy in the soup, it is an a ideal temperature (167 º F/75 º C) for a drinking.
Let’s Make Miss o Soup with a Various Ingredients
Besides tofu and Wake seaweed, you can add so many seasonal and year-round ingredients to your miss o soup. Here are some simple ones:
Dense & root vegetables – carrot, daikon, potato, onion, gob, taro, turnip, kabocha
Soft & leafy vegetables – spinach, cabbage, leeks, eggplant, okra
Mushrooms – shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms.
Tofu – aburaage (fried tofu pouch), koya dofu (freeze-dried tofu), yuba
Seaweed – wakame, hijiki
Noodles: cooked somen noodles
Health Benefits of the Miss o Soup
Japanese people drink miss o soup daily as we believe in this delicious, healing soup is a gateway to the great health. Just like a green tea, you can safely say miss o soup is the elixir of the Japanese diet. Here are just some of the health benefits of the miss o soup:
- Helps maintain a healthy digestive system
With it is a beneficial probiotics, drinking miss o soup helps to improve your overall digestion and absorption of the nutrients. - Good source of nutrients
Miss o is a rich in a minerals as well as a copper, manganese, protein, Vitamin K, and zinc. Therefore, drinking a bowl of the miss o soup a day is like a taking a natural supplement for your health. - Good for bones
Miss o soup provides many bone-building minerals like a calcium, magnesium, and manganese, which helps to reduce in the risk of developing osteoporosis. - Improve your heart
The natural chemical compounds in a miss o, such as a Vitamin K 2, linoleum acid and sapping, are known to reduce in the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol.
To enjoy in the amazing health benefits of the miss o soup, you will want to make your own a miss o soup. The instant miss o soup will not be as a good since they tend to the contain higher sodium and may be include other preservatives. There are some good brands out there, so just be sure to read in the label.
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Now that you have learned how to make a miss o soup at home, I hope you enjoy this nourishing soup every day!