Happy Foody

Mighty Miso Soup

November 3, 2008 at 12:01 am 7 comments

Another goody from a favorite cookbook of mine, How it all Vegan by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard. This was SO easy to make and much more tasty than I expected. If you’ve ever had miso soup when you’ve gone out for sushi…multiply the yumminess by 10 and that’s this soup. It’s got so much healthy goodness in it…and so much taste. The perfect healing soup…when I was pregnant with Bella, my midwife told me that it would be a great after-birth replenishing meal.

Here is an excerpt from the intro in the cookbook…very educational

Miso is a fermented bean/grain paste that orignated in Asia. There are 3 varieties of miso: soybean, barley, and brown rice. I like to use the brown rice miso in this recipe because I find it has the best taste. Combining miso with shitake mushrooms creates a balanced protein. Shitakes not only enhance the soup’s flavor but also contain all 8 essential amino acids the body needs. A word of caution, NEVER boil or overcook your miso; this kills all of its nutrients. Always add your miso just before removing the soup from the heat.

Mighty Miso Soup
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup medium or firm tofu
2 large shitake mushrooms or 1 cup frozen
3 T dried seaweed, chopped (hijiki is best)
2-3 heaping T of miso paste (more or less to taste)
3 stalks green onions, chopped
3 T spinach, chopped (or kale, bok choy, or swiss chard)

In a medium pot, add the water, tofu, mushrooms, and dried seawood and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-8 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat, stir in the miso, onions, and spinach, and let sit for 30 seconds. Makes 4 servings.

Sara’s Tips:

• I used the sweet white miso and it was delicious!
• The frozen shitakes worked great.
• Dissolve your miso in a little warm water first, before adding it to the soup. I didn’t do this, and ended up with giant chunks of miso in the soup.
• Enjoy!!

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