Miso Soup with Vegetables

Side Dish / Vegetarian / Plant-based / Vegan

(172 votes, average: 3.63 out of 5)

Though miso soup is usually considered an appetizer for lunch or dinner in American Japanese restaurants, this miso soup recipe is inspired by Okinawan centenarian Kamada Nakazato who preferred to eat it for breakfast, spiked with vegetables she picked from her garden. In the United States, miso and fresh shiitake mushrooms are available in Asian markets and many mainstream supermarkets. Darker miso has a stronger flavor and is saltier than lighter white to yellow miso (considered the general purpose miso).

Yield: 4 servings

Yum

Ingredients

3 tablespoons miso paste, such as shiro miso (white), miso (aka red miso), or shinshu miso (yellow)

1 ½ tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar

1 large garlic clove, peeled

1 ½-inch fresh ginger piece, peeled

½ pound firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes

¼ pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and the caps thinly sliced

2 cups pea shoots (about 3 ounces), roughly chopped

6 medium scallions, trimmed and thinly chopped

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Directions

Put the miso, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and 1 cup water in a food processor or a large blender. Cover and process or blend until smooth, scraping down the inside of the canister at least once.
Stir the miso mixture into 4 additional cups water in a medium saucepan. Add the tofu, mushrooms, pea shoots, and scallions; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the sesame oil and soy sauce before serving.

Tip: If you like more texture, finely mince the garlic and ginger but don’t put them in the food processor or blender. Instead, add them with the tofu in step 2.

Tip: If fresh shiitake mushrooms are not available, soak 4 large dried shiitakes with warm tap water in a small bowl for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth to remove grit. Use this soaking liquid, reducing the amount of water in the saucepan by an equivalent amount.

Tip: Substitute baby spinach or stemmed watercress for the pea shoots.