Tofu and Wakame Misoshiru (豆腐とわかめの味噌汁)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

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

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the wakame

   Put the dried wakame in a small bowl of cool water for 5 minutes, until it opens into soft green ribbons. Drain it well and cut any long pieces shorter. Wakame swells more than seems polite, so start with less than your eyes want.

   Rehydrating the wakame separately keeps excess salt and grit out of the soup, and adding it late preserves its clean color.
2. 2

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the konbu lightly with a damp cloth, but don't scrub it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over medium-low heat, about 10 minutes. When the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot, lift the konbu out.

   That pale bloom on the konbu is flavor, not dirt. Boil the kelp and the stock can turn bitter and slick, so you pull it before the boil to protect the clean taste.
3. 3

   Steep the bonito

   Bring the water just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, then turn off the heat. Leave the flakes alone for 2 to 3 minutes, until they sink. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cloth or sturdy paper towel.

   Don't stir and don't squeeze. Letting the flakes settle gives you clear dashi, while pressing them pushes stronger, oily flavors into a soup that wants quiet balance.
4. 4

   Warm the tofu

   Return the dashi to the pot and bring it to a gentle heat, not a rolling boil. Add the tofu cubes and warm them for 2 minutes, just until they are hot through. A lively boil chips the tofu edges and makes the bowl look careless.

   Cut tofu into small, even cubes so each spoonful carries broth, tofu, and wakame together.
5. 5

   Dissolve the miso

   Turn the heat off. Put the miso in a ladle, lower it partly into the hot dashi, and stir with chopsticks until the miso loosens into the broth. Taste, then add a little more miso if the soup needs depth.

   Dissolving miso in the ladle prevents lumps and lets you taste gradually. The soup should be savory and rounded, not salty enough to make the rice work too hard.
6. 6

   Finish the bowl

   Add the drained wakame and warm the soup gently for a few seconds, keeping it below a boil. Ladle into bowls and scatter a little sliced scallion on top. Serve at once, while the miso is still fragrant and the wakame is bright.

   Once the miso is in, boiling is the enemy. Heat wakes the aroma, but a boil drives it away.

Chef Tips

• •Use awase miso for a balanced everyday bowl. Red miso alone can be deep and salty, white miso alone can be sweet and mild, and the blend sits comfortably between them.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake. Soak 1 piece konbu and 2 dried shiitake in the 4 cups of water overnight, warm gently, then strain. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not a compromise.
• •Don't use instant dashi here if you can help it. A sensible stand-in has its place, but misoshiru is mostly dashi and miso, so powder makes the whole bowl taste flat and salty.
• •Add miso only to the amount of soup you're serving now. Reheated miso soup is common enough at home, but the fragrance is best the first time the miso meets the hot stock.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it gently before adding tofu and miso.
• •Konbu can soak in the measured water overnight in the refrigerator for a rounder stock and a calmer morning.
• •Wakame can be rehydrated and drained a few hours ahead, then kept covered in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 290g)