> I'm trying to make a simple but typical miso soup.

What you need for Japanese miso soup is

-* Dashi (bouillon/stock/broth) - Dashi for miso soup is made from either
Dashiko/Iriko (dried anchovy) or Konbu (kelp)-Japanese official Romanised
transcription, spelling/kombu, Katsuobushi (smoked, dried bonito), dried
Shiitake mushroom. Only one ingredient of these or 2-3 combined could be
used to make Dashi.

-* Miso(fermetned salted soy bean paste) - there are so many kinds of Miso
as there are stars in the sky, well this is a bit exaggerated, but this
somewhat tells you the diversity of Miso world. To make simple, there are 2
big groups, white Miso and red(dark brown) Miso.

-* Gu/Misoshiru no Gu (ingredients - soup filling)
vegetables, sea weed(dried/fresh/salted Wakame, Mo, Arame, etc.), fungi,
fish, shell fish, meat (chicken,pork,game), and rather typical Japanese half
processed ingredients like Tofu, Fu, Yuba, Natto and etc..

-* garnish - herbs/spices like Shichimi Togarashi, Yuzu and etc.
Garlic and ginger are not popular ordinary Miso soup garnish, but could be
added according to what kind of ingredients used as filling.
I even tasted with lemon grass flavoured Miso soup in the US, and it was
rather refreshing new taste. Lemon grass is completely foreign to Japanese
cuisine.

Above mentioned ingredients
Dashi-Miso-Filling that is Miso soup and how you would combine them is up to
your fantasy and taste provided that you have a basic understanding of
making Miso soup, i.e. those ingredients won't be cooked up together long
time like you might make Waterzooi or stew.
I guess by "typical miso soup" should mean what is most common and known as
Miso soup in and outside Japan.

Tofu and Wakame Miso soup
Bring Dashi to a boil(take any type of Dashi which suits your taste, make
your own from scratch or use instant powder, etc.).
Put chopped Tofu and Wakame in the Dashi, when it starts reaching boiling
point, turn down the heat and dissolve Miso paste in the soup and do not
boil any more. Just keep it warm.
You can put flavouring/garnish like chopped scallions in the soup at the
very end of cooking process or when you dishing it up in the bowl.

There are many other typical Japanese Miso soup ingredients combinations.
Would anyone be interested in the combo list?
Example
* potato, onion (western regular round onion), Age(deep fried tofu), Shiro
miso - for breakfast this is a very common Miso soup up in the northern
part of Japan, Hokkaido during the winter.
* okura, sesame paste, cucumber, Fu, shiro Miso - cold type summer miso
soup

On March 21 in 2002, Mainichi Journal Osaka placed an enqu¨ºte/survey "What
kind of ingredients come up in your mind when you hear the word
Miso-Shiru(soup)?"
1)-Tofu, 2)-Wakame, 3)-Shijimi(freshwater clam), 4)-potato, 5)-onion,
6)-misc.



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