MISO SOUP
Miso soup is a great demonstration of something called umami. It doesn’t fit into the normal flavor categories of hot, sour, salty and sweet. Instead it’s a general, hard-to-define savoriness, which some people call the “fifth flavor.”
It’s created by a few families of flavor compounds. You’ll find those occurring naturally in many foods, including tomatoes, mushrooms, celery and notably in a type of seaweed called kombu. It’s harvested from one specific region in Japan and then dried in the sun, which is why you’ll sometimes see traces of salt on the dried leaves.
Fermentation can also create umami flavor compounds, in foods like miso. It’s made by inoculating salted soybeans with a fungus called koji. In most kinds of miso the koji is added first to a quantity of rice, then the rice mixture is added to the soybeans. The end result is a thick paste that can range in color from a very light beige (shiromiso, or white miso) to dark red (akamiso), with the darker varieties having a stronger flavor.
You can make a quick soup by simply stirring a bit of miso into a cup of hot water, but more traditional versions start with a Japanese broth called dashi. Dashi is flavored with kombu and usually fish flakes called katsuobashi, made from tuna that’s cured and dried until its flavors are very concentrated. They’re simmered together, then strained from the finished broth once they’ve given up their flavor.
We won’t use katsuoboshi in this case. Instead we’ll create layers of umami using just kombu, mushrooms and the miso itself. Using dried shiitake instead of tuna flakes is a very traditional alternative, and makes a vegan-friendly soup.
Ingredients:
6 to 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, roughly 1 1/2 cups depending on size
8 cups water
1 ounce kombu, roughly equivalent to 2 3”X3” squares
1/4 to 1/3 cup white miso
Fresh tofu, cut into cubes (see recipe below)
2 scallions, sliced thinly at a slight angle
Method
Brush any visible debris from the shiitake mushrooms, and place them in a medium-sized saucepan. Cover with the cold water, and heat to the verge of boiling. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Add the kombu and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, until both the mushrooms and the kombu have released most of their flavor.
Strain the mixture into a second pot. Discard the kombu, but reserve the shiitake. Once they’re cool enough to handle, trim off their chewy stems and slide the caps thinly.
Return the shiitake to the pot, and bring the broth back to a simmer. Measure out 1/4 cup of the miso into a bowl, and add an equal quantity of the warm broth. Whisk them together, to loosen the miso paste, then stir the mixture back into the pot.
Simmer for a minute or two, until well mixed, then taste. If the broth lacks body, add a bit more miso to enrich it. Some brands are more flavorful than others, so keep adding miso until it tastes right to you.
Divide the tofu cubes between 6 or 8 bowls, and ladle the hot miso broth over it. Top with the scallions, and serve immediately.
