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Miso Soup (misoshiru in Japanese) is a traditional Japanese soup
consisting of a stock called "dashi" into which is dissolved softened miso.
Various solid ingredients like wakame seaweed, tofu, and mushrooms are then
added to make the finished soup. The soup is usually served in lacquer bowls
with lids and drunk directly from the bowl. Solid ingredients are eaten with
chopsticks Different types of miso produce distinctive soups.
The most common dashi soup stocks for miso soup are made of niboshi
(dried baby sardines) or kelp with katsuobushi (thin shavings of dried and
smoked bonito fish). Sometimes, however, kelp or shiitake vegetarian dashi
stocks are used. Outside of Japan, American or European style miso soup is
sometimes made by dissolving miso in a western vegetable stock. The stock
might include ingredients such as leek, onion, carrot, potato and radish.
According to Japanese custom, the solid ingredients are chosen to
reflect the seasons and to provide contrasts of color, texture, and flavor.
Thus leek and tofu, a strongly flavored ingredient mixed with a delicately
flavored ingredient, are considered a good combination. Ingredients that
float, like wakame seaweed, and ingredients that sink, like potatoes, are
also good combinations. No two solid ingredients should have the same color,
texture, or flavor. That way, all the ingredients will contribute uniquely
to the soup. Ingredients range from mushrooms to potatoes, from seaweeds to
green onions, and from shrimp or fish to grated daikon. The choices are
many.
In Japan, miso and dashi are heated together nearly to boiling in the
making of the soup, but some experts recommend that the miso be added only
when the dashi has cooled a little--thus keeping the miso biologically
active.
In Japan, miso soup and white rice make up the traditional Japanese
breakfast, and so most Japanese people eat miso soup at least once a day.
The soup has been a favorite of commoners and royalty alike for many
centuries. Most westerners find the sweet and salty soup appealing.
If pork is added to miso soup, it is called Ton-Jiru, meaning "pork
soup."
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