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I love miso soup at Japanese restaurants, especially if it's not out of
a packet; I even like the packet stuff okay. But until now, whenever I buy miso and try to make soup following the package directions, it doesn't taste quite right. Luckily I thought to read Deborah Madison's suggestions in "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone." Wow it turned out great. Loosely, without giving a "real" recipe: boiled some edible dried seaweed in four cups of water for about 30 minutes; also added a chunk of raw white onion that was orphaned in the veggie bin. 20 minutes into it I added some dried mushrooms, plain white ones that had been on sale. 2 minutes before the timer went off I fished out some of the more weird, thick seaweed that I don't care to eat that much, as well as the now squishy onion chunk. Siphoned off several tablespoons of broth and poured it over two or three fat spoonfuls of light miso in a bowl. Swirled the miso around in the broth to get it all creamy, dumped it into the seaweed broth with some cut up chunks of tofu. Heated that through, added a few shakes of soy sauce. That's it. Man was it good. I just ate the leftovers today, 24 hours later, and the tofu absorbed the soup flavors overnight - very tasty. Maybe this is old news to some of you but I am enlightened. Much better than the packaged stuff, and the seaweed broth gives it depth of flavor that I love. not to mention how good it is for you...the seaweed is a potent anti-cancer food, and tofu is good for all manner of things. But I hate eating stuff just because it's good for you, I have to like the taste. This is the first time I've liked home made seaweed miso soup. Leila |
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![]() "Leila" > wrote in message oups.com... >I love miso soup at Japanese restaurants, especially if it's not out of > a packet; I even like the packet stuff okay. But until now, whenever I > buy miso and try to make soup following the package directions, it > doesn't taste quite right. <Snip> > Leila There is a product Dashi-No-Moto that you are missing. It's made with Powdered Bonito Flavored Soup Stock. I think that's the flavor you're missing. Dimitri |
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![]() "Leila" > wrote in message oups.com... > I love miso soup at Japanese restaurants, especially if it's not out of > a packet; I even like the packet stuff okay. But until now, whenever I > buy miso and try to make soup following the package directions, it > doesn't taste quite right. I agree with Dimitri that what you're missing is the flavor of the bonito stock - "dashi" is the Japanese for it, a stock made using shavings of dried bonito ("hana katsuo," or "katsuo no hana," literally "flowers (petals) of the bonito." But since you've evidently interested in a vegetarian version, perhaps using a fish stock is a no-no. The other things that stands out, though, is with respect to the "edible dried seaweed" you mentioned. Traditionally, the dashi stock is also flavored by steeping a piece of konbu (also seen as "kombu" - the actual Japanese sound is somewhat between these), which is a thick piece of dried seaweed (kelp) in it. But the konbu itself isn't eaten - it's removed before the stock is used to make the soup - and should NEVER be boiled. Boiling it will cause it to impart a bitter taste to the stock. Bob M. |
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Bob Myers wrote:
> "Leila" > wrote in message > oups.com... > >>I love miso soup at Japanese restaurants, especially if it's not out of >>a packet; I even like the packet stuff okay. But until now, whenever I >>buy miso and try to make soup following the package directions, it >>doesn't taste quite right. > > > I agree with Dimitri that what you're missing is the flavor of the > bonito stock - "dashi" is the Japanese for it, a stock made using > shavings of dried bonito ("hana katsuo," or "katsuo no hana," > literally "flowers (petals) of the bonito." But since you've evidently > interested in a vegetarian version, perhaps using a fish stock is a > no-no. I guessed that is why the shoyu was used and no dashi. We make miso soup frequently especially in the winter. I like more of a rustic style with cabbage/carrots/potatoes etc. We generally use "iriko dashi" because we like the stronger taste. I have never found that packet stuff to be very good. > > The other things that stands out, though, is with respect to the > "edible dried seaweed" you mentioned. Traditionally, the dashi > stock is also flavored by steeping a piece of konbu (also seen as > "kombu" - the actual Japanese sound is somewhat between > these), which is a thick piece of dried seaweed (kelp) in it. But the > konbu itself isn't eaten - it's removed before the stock is used > to make the soup - and should NEVER be boiled. Boiling it > will cause it to impart a bitter taste to the stock. > > > Bob M. > > |
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Well the seaweed I got was labeled - simmer 30 minutes. Also the
Madison recipe said to do this. I didn't detect a bitter flavor. It's a mixed seaweed bag and I've since lost the label. Maybe no kombu in it? Perhaps the bonito flakes would add something. I got the flavor I wanted. BTW I have no problem with fish. Leila |
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![]() "Leila" > wrote in message oups.com... > Well the seaweed I got was labeled - simmer 30 minutes. OK, and that sounds fine - but in your original post, you'd used the word "boil," and that raised a warning flag for me. Just making sure...:-) (Hopefully, we're agreed that "simmer" is a different thing than "boil.") > Madison recipe said to do this. I didn't detect a bitter flavor. It's a > mixed seaweed bag and I've since lost the label. Maybe no kombu in it? Possibly, but konbu IS one of the key flavoring ingredients in traditional dashi. > Perhaps the bonito flakes would add something. I got the flavor I > wanted. BTW I have no problem with fish. In that case, you may want to look for these in the Asian foods section of your local market; they definitely add a flavor all their own, and I can't imagine a true "dashi" without them. The bonito flakes (again, you may need to look for "hana katsuo" or "katsuo no hana") look somewhat like thin wood shavings - thin, curly, rosy-tan colored bits, perhaps an inch on a side. You will use what seems to be a large amount in making the stock, but they "wilt" quite a bit immediately upon being added to the hot water. (They're not kept around in the final stock either - you strain it to remove the bonito flakes before using it for the soup.) Just about any book covering basic Japanese cooking will include a recipe for making dashi using these ingredients. (One of my personal favorites is "Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art," by Shizuo Tsuji.) Bob M. |
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In article .com>,
"Leila" > wrote: > I love miso soup at Japanese restaurants, especially if it's not out of > a packet; I even like the packet stuff okay. But until now, whenever I > buy miso and try to make soup following the package directions, it > doesn't taste quite right. > > Luckily I thought to read Deborah Madison's suggestions in "Vegetarian > Cooking for Everyone." Wow it turned out great. > > Loosely, without giving a "real" recipe: boiled some edible dried > seaweed in four cups of water for about 30 minutes; also added a chunk > of raw white onion that was orphaned in the veggie bin. 20 minutes into > it I added some dried mushrooms, plain white ones that had been on > sale. 2 minutes before the timer went off I fished out some of the more > weird, thick seaweed that I don't care to eat that much, as well as the > now squishy onion chunk. Siphoned off several tablespoons of broth and > poured it over two or three fat spoonfuls of light miso in a bowl. > Swirled the miso around in the broth to get it all creamy, dumped it > into the seaweed broth with some cut up chunks of tofu. Heated that > through, added a few shakes of soy sauce. That's it. > > Man was it good. I just ate the leftovers today, 24 hours later, and > the tofu absorbed the soup flavors overnight - very tasty. > > Maybe this is old news to some of you but I am enlightened. Much better > than the packaged stuff, and the seaweed broth gives it depth of flavor > that I love. > > not to mention how good it is for you...the seaweed is a potent > anti-cancer food, and tofu is good for all manner of things. But I hate > eating stuff just because it's good for you, I have to like the taste. > This is the first time I've liked home made seaweed miso soup. > > Leila Last year I had a student who reported that she'd eaten 11,000 Calories on her 3-day food record project. This seemed highly unlikely, since she was one of the skinniest students in the class. It turns out that instead of entering 32 ounces of miso soup into the computer program, she entered 32 ounces of miso paste. BIG difference. I consider any comfort food to be good anti-cancer food. If you can keep it on your stomach after chemo, it works. Cindy, in sunny, spring-y Seattle (crocuses and daffodils are in bloom!!!) -- C.J. Fuller Delete the obvious to email me |
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