Print

Homemade Miso Soup with Tofu Recipe

Print Recipe

★★★★★

4.4 from 110 reviews

A traditional and comforting Homemade Miso Soup made from scratch using kombu and katsuobushi for a rich umami dashi, combined with soft silken tofu, wakame seaweed, and fresh green onions. This recipe offers options for both classic and vegan versions, providing a nourishing and flavorful Japanese soup that can be enjoyed in just 20 minutes.

Ingredients

Scale

Dashi Ingredients

  • 4 cups water
  • 1 piece kombu (dried kelp), ⅓ oz (10 g), 4 x 4 inches (10 x 10 cm)
  • 1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), loosely packed 3 cups for stronger flavor (omit for vegan/vegetarian version)

Miso Soup Ingredients

  • 7 oz soft/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu), cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 4 Tbsp miso (about 1 Tbsp or 18 g per 1 cup (240 ml) of dashi)
  • 1 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed
  • 1 green onion/scallion, sliced into thin rounds

Instructions

  1. Prepare Ingredients: Gather all the ingredients and slice the green onion into thin rounds. Cut the tofu into ½-inch cubes, using a cutting board to avoid breaking it.
  2. Make Kombu Dashi: In a medium saucepan, add 4 cups of water and the piece of kombu. If possible, soak the kombu for 30 minutes but do not wash or remove the white powdery substance to preserve umami. Slowly heat on medium-low until just before boiling (about 10 minutes), then remove the kombu to prevent bitterness.
  3. Make Awase Dashi (if not vegan): Add 1 cup of katsuobushi to the kombu dashi and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 seconds. Turn off heat and allow the bonito flakes to settle for 10 minutes; strain through a fine mesh sieve. This yields about 4 cups of Awase Dashi. For vegan/vegetarian soup, skip this step and use kombu dashi alone.
  4. Heat Dashi: Pour dashi back into the saucepan. If refrigerated, reheat to a gentle boil (205°F/96°C) and then turn off the heat to prevent loss of flavor.
  5. Dissolve Miso: Place 4 Tbsp of miso into a ladle or fine mesh strainer. Slowly mix dashi with the miso using chopsticks or a miso muddler to fully dissolve. If using fine mesh, decide whether to keep the rice koji grains based on preference.
  6. Add Tofu: Gently add the cubed tofu to the miso soup after the miso is fully dissolved to avoid breaking the tofu.
  7. Add Wakame and Green Onions: Add 1 Tbsp dried wakame and the sliced green onions just before serving to maintain fresh fragrance and color. Optionally rehydrate wakame separately to reduce saltiness.
  8. Serve: Serve the miso soup immediately, placing the bowl on the right side of the dining setting.
  9. Storage: Consume fresh for best flavor. If storing leftovers, cool to room temperature for up to 4 hours, refrigerate for up to 2 days (do not add miso for longer storage), or freeze without tofu for up to 2 weeks. Add miso fresh when reheating.
  10. Reheat: Warm the miso soup gently over medium heat, avoiding boiling to preserve nutrients and flavor.
  11. Repurpose Dashi Ingredients: Store spent kombu and katsuobushi in airtight containers refrigerated up to a week or frozen up to a month. Use kombu for simmered kombu (Kombu Tsukudani) or make homemade furikake rice seasoning.

Notes

  • Do not wash kombu or remove the white powdery substance, as it contains important umami flavors.
  • Slow heating kombu helps extract maximum umami without bitterness.
  • Do not boil miso soup after adding miso; high heat destroys delicate flavors and nutrients.
  • Soft/silken tofu is best added after miso is dissolved to avoid breaking it.
  • Rehydrating dried wakame separately can help control saltiness.
  • Store dashi and miso soup separately for better preservation; add miso fresh when reheating.
  • Vegan/vegetarian options: use kombu dashi alone or add dried shiitake mushrooms for vegan dashi.
  • Spent kombu and katsuobushi can be reused to create other flavorful dishes.

Keywords: miso soup, homemade miso soup, Japanese soup, dashi, tofu soup, vegetarian miso soup, kombu dashi, katsuobushi, wakame seaweed

Find it online: https://reemcook.com/homemade-miso-soup-with-tofu-recipe/