Mugi Miso Soup (麦味噌汁, Kyushu barley-miso soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium soup pot
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth or paper towel
• •Miso koshi (miso strainer), or a small ladle and chopsticks

Instructions

1. 1

   Steep konbu

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. The pale powder on the surface is flavor, not dirt. Put it in the cold water and warm it slowly over low heat, about ten minutes, until the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Lift the konbu out before the water boils, because boiling it can make the dashi bitter and slick.

2. 2

   Add bonito

   Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and take the pot off the heat. Let the flakes settle for two or three minutes without stirring. They give their best aroma quickly, and stirring only muddies the clean taste you have just built.

3. 3

   Strain dashi

   Strain the dashi through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth or paper towel. Let it drip naturally. Don't squeeze the flakes, because squeezing presses out harsher, oily flavors and clouds the stock. You want a clear base so the barley miso can speak plainly.

4. 4

   Simmer potato

   Return the dashi to the pot and add the sweet potato. If using pork belly, add it now and skim any foam that rises. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender when pierced but still holds its shape. A quiet simmer keeps the pieces intact and lets their sweetness enter the broth without breaking them apart.

5. 5

   Warm tofu

   Add the tofu and warm it for 2 minutes. Keep the broth below a hard boil. Tofu needs only to heat through, and rough boiling chips its edges and makes the soup look careless.

6. 6

   Dissolve miso

   Turn the heat to low. Put the mugi miso in a small ladle or bowl, loosen it with a little hot dashi, then stir the smooth paste back into the pot. Taste before adding the final spoonful. Miso varies by maker, and barley miso should taste rounded and grain-sweet, not simply salty.

   Never boil the soup after the miso goes in. Heat wakes the aroma, but boiling drives it away.
7. 7

   Finish bowls

   Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and scatter the sliced scallion on top. Serve at once, with the sweet potato and tofu visible rather than buried. Leave the bowl a little room. Even a weekday soup deserves that much manners.

Chef Tips

• •Choose mugi miso that smells of grain, not only salt. If the shop carries Kyushu or barley kōji miso, start there. The right miso does most of the work.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake instead of katsuobushi: soak 1 piece konbu and 2 dried shiitake in the water overnight, warm gently, then strain. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not a lesser bowl.
• •Add miso in stages. Three tablespoons may be enough for a sweeter Kyushu miso, while a lighter one may need the fourth. Taste decides, not pride.
• •If the sweet potato is old, fibrous, or tired, change the dish. Use daikon, taro, or kabocha in season. Nothing good comes from forcing a poor ingredient to pretend.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated.
• •For a deeper vegetarian dashi, soak konbu and dried shiitake overnight in the refrigerator before warming and straining.
• •Cut the sweet potato up to four hours ahead and keep it covered in cold water so it does not darken. Drain before simmering.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)