Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Miso Soup With Soft Tofu, Shitaki, And Wakame

Saturday, September 8, 2012

[MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Miso Soup With Soft Tofu, Shitaki, And Wakame

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Miso Soup With Soft Tofu, Shitaki, And Wakame

3 C seafood stock or dashi
1/2 lb soft tofu, cut in cubes
1/4 C dried wakame seaweed, rehydrated in warm water
3 shitaki mushrooms, rehydrated in warm water
2 TBSP miso
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 TBSP finely shredded nori

Place the wakame and the shitaki in separate bowls; pour over warm water
from a recently boiled kettle and allow to stand about 15 minutes until
softened.
Drain the water (you can keep it for stock). Cut out the tough stem from the
shitaki and slice it; set aside.
Slice the wakame as well, and set aside.

Placed half the tofu and spring onion in two bowls. Set aside.

Measure 3 C of stock into a pan. Bring seafood stock or dashi to a good
boil; turn off heat and count to 20.
Add the shitaki and miso to the hot stock.
Place the miso in a strainer, lower into the broth, and use a spoon to rub
the miso into the broth.
Heat to a simmer; do not boil after the miso has been added.
When hot, ladle the broth over the tofu and spring onions in the bowls.
Sprinkle with finely slivered nori.
Serves 2.

Notes
This makes a wonderful breakfast, and gives good lasting energy until lunch.

Use red miso in winter, white in summer.

It's easiest to use scissors to sliver the nori, or you can buy it finely
shredded in packets.

If you have not used wakame before, it is very dark, almost black when dry,
but brightens to a nice green when rehydrated. Think of it as "spinach of
the sea" - it has much the same texture as cooked spinach, with a mild sea
flavor.

Recently I discovered seafood "stock in a box", Kitchen Basics brand, which
is quite good. Of course, you should make your own dashi from scratch...