Aka (赤) means red and as you can guess, aka-miso has a deep reddish brown colour. It contains much more salt than shiro-miso. Unlike shiro-miso, which has shorter fermentation period, aka-miso takes more than a year to ferment, resulting in the dark colour. Aka-miso has a rich flavour and people in northern part of Japan tend to consumes aka-miso. Silken or Soft Tofu (Kinugoshi Tofu 絹ごし豆腐) – Undrained and unpressed; the highest water content; a custardy texture. Miso soup provides many bone-building minerals like calcium, magnesium, and manganese, which help to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. 4. Improve your heart Miso soup is one of the basic components of a Japanese meal. When you have a bowl of rice, miso soup will be served in most cases. White Miso Paste – (Shiro Miso 白味噌) : White miso paste is the sweetest and mildest of all three miso pastes (made with 40% soybean and 60% rice or barley grains). Because the fermentation period is shorter than other types of miso paste, the flavor isn’t very developed and can be a little one note at times. If you’ve had mediocre miso soup at a Japanese restaurant, they were most likely using white miso paste.

Miso is rich in minerals, copper, manganese, protein, Vitamin K, and zinc. Therefore, drinking a bowl of miso soup daily is like taking a natural supplement for your health. 3. Good for bones Wakame is one kind of edible seaweed . You can buy wakame at Asian grocery stores, mostly as dried wakame. Some are already cut into small sizes and you can simply add them directly into the miso soup to rehydrate. If not cut into pieces, you will need to cut them after rehydrating them. There are many different types of miso paste but the three most popular ones used for miso soup are: Red miso, or aka miso (赤味噌) has a deeper flavor compared with white miso, because it is fermented for a longer period of time. The longer fermentation process also results in the color being much darker compared to white miso. Red miso is also commonly enjoyed in prefectures such as Aichi, Mie, Gifu, Toyama, Ishikawa, Miyagi, and Hokkaido. With its beneficial probiotics, drinking miso soup helps to improve your overall digestion and absorption of nutrients. 2. Good source of nutrientsThe deep flavor of red miso pairs very well with hearty ingredients such as seafood. In particular, seafood such as shell fish and white wish pair lovely with the robust flavor of red miso. Miso paste: Use red miso paste if you like your miso soup very smoky and salty, white miso paste if you prefer a milder, gentler, and sweeter taste, and awase miso paste if you like it in between.

The serving bowls for miso soup are quite different from those for rice or for Western style soups. Japanese miso soup bowls are called owan (お椀) and are not ceramic. They are traditionally made of wood finished with Japanese lacquer called uruhi (漆). But for day-to-day use, there are plastic versions of owan which are made to look like wooden products. Please visit Miso Soup Ingredient Combinations to see the photos of different owan.You might find frozen fresh wakame. They are not cut into small pieces and are usually coated with salt to keep them fresh. So you’ll have take what you need and soak them in water to remove the saltiness before using it. Each miso paste and brand varies in saltiness and flavor. When it comes to miso soup, there is no “right” miso for your miso soup. All you need to remember is to adjust the amount according to taste. Mix two to three miso brands/types together for more complex flavors. Enjoy its unique characters using just one type if you have good quality miso. Depending on the region, season, and personal preference, you can enjoy many miso soup varieties in Japan. In addition to the classic tofu and wakame combination I show you today, we also use different savory ingredients such as veggies, meat, and seafood to make the soup. That’s why we can never get bored with it. Most Japanese meals are served with a small bowl of steamed rice and a traditional Japanese soup called Miso Soup (味噌汁). At its most basic, miso soup is simply made of three components:

Depending on the ingredients you add to the miso soup, you make the soup slightly different way. In this post, you will find two different ways of making miso soup indicating when to use each method. Japanese cooking requires dashi in many recipes. You can make a big batch of dashi and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days or in the freezer for two weeks. Use dashi for different recipes throughout the week. With dashi on hand, you can make the basic miso soup in under 5minutes! To enjoy the fantastic health benefits of miso soup, you will want to make your own miso soup. Instant miso soup will not be as good since it contains higher sodium and may include other preservatives. However, some good brands are out there, so just be sure to read the label. In our last recipe post, we shared that we would be introducing different miso soup recipes using different miso pastes and ingredients. This time we will be introducing a miso soup recipe using red miso paste. We’ll go over how it all works together in detail below. How to Make Classic Miso Soup with Tofu and WakameAlthough it is common to cut tofu on your palm in Japan (you have probably seen this in Japanese drama or manga), it’s not required. I recommend using a cutting board if you have never done this. Two Important Cooking Tips For root vegetables, cook them in cold dashi until they become tender, approximately 5-10 minutes (depending on the vegetables and cut). Then, cook leafy vegetables in the simmering dashi for a few minutes. For mushrooms and tofu, cook them until heated after you add miso to the dashi. Health Benefits of Miso Soup Never boil miso soup once miso is added because it loses nutrients, flavors, and aromas. If you turn off the heat right before boiling, this temperature (203ºF/95ºC) is considered the most fragrant stage for miso soup. And by the time you are ready to enjoy the soup, it is an ideal temperature (167ºF/75ºC) for drinking. The verdict: Awase miso is the best miso paste for miso soup. Unless you love a lot of smoke (like Ben does) in which case red miso paste will be your go-to ingredient. For our red miso soup recipe, we used clams to flavor the dashi broth of this miso soup. The umami from the clams and the saltiness of the red miso come together and create a unique savory flavor that will warm up your body. This is especially the perfect miso soup to make during the winter months.

Onion: A large white or yellow onion, preferably sweet. Don’t be afraid to use a lot since it adds a lovely flavor to the soup. And once the onion slices are boiled, they are so tender they almost melt in your mouth. Miso(味噌), fermented soybean paste, is made from soybeans, grains (steamed rice or barley), salt, and kojiculture (麹, a fermentation starter). Types of Miso Yellow Miso Paste – (Awase Miso 合わせ味噌): The word awase in Japanese means “to mix”, and that’s exactly what this miso paste is – a mix of white and red miso paste. It’s my favorite miso paste for almost any dish using miso, including miso soup. You get the sweetness of the white miso paste mixed with the smokiness and saltiness of the red miso paste. It’s a powerful combination and one that yields a bowl of miso soup where the flavors are in perfect harmony. Besides tofu and wakame seaweed, you can add seasonal and year-round ingredients to your miso soup. Here are some simple ones:Now that you’ve learned how to make miso soup at home, I hope you enjoy this nourishing soup every day! Other Variations of Miso Soup You May Enjoy Japanese people drink miso soup daily, as we believe this delicious and healing soup is a gateway to excellent health. Just like green tea, you can say miso soup is the elixir of the Japanese diet. Here are just some of the health benefits of miso soup: 1. Helps maintain a healthy digestive system Water: Four cups of water or four cups of dashi if you are making it from scratch using bonito flakes or kombu. Awase-miso sits in the middle from both a colour and saltiness perspective. Most miso paste you can buy at supermarkets outside Japan are awase-miso and I think that this is the most commonly used miso in Japan as well. Miso Soup Ingredients Many miso soup ingredients are vegetables. There are so many combinations you can make up and the possibilities are almost endless. I have created a separate post, Miso Soup Ingredient Combinations, where I have suggested some combinations of ingredients for miso soup. Ingredients in this post are all vegetables except one. How to Make Miso Soup