Miso Soup is the New Minestrone

Miso Soup is the Japanese version of minestrone soup.    Miso (みそ, 味噌)  is a protein-rich, fermented Japanese seasoning that is created from the combination of rice, barley, fungus, and (in this case) an ample amount of soy.   It is a staple in the Japanese diet, especially when mixed with dashi (dried bonito and fish stock).  Most of us have encountered it in its Emperor with New Clothes form, with just seaweed, tofu, green onions, and broth.   But Miso soup can be a hearty dish, made with so many more ingredients!  While living in Wakayama, Japan, I tasted miso with mountain potatoes, mushrooms, onions, sometimes even chicken.  I checked my cupboard, and didnt have any tofu or konbu (seaweed), or green onions.  So, today I made a miso soup with ingredients that are commonly just laying around here, a la minestrone!

Ingredients:

1 cup Beech Mushrooms

3 frozen Brussel Sprouts

1 stick of Chinese Bean Curd

1/4 cup of Aka (Red) Miso paste (white is ok)

1 Tbs Dashi seasoning

1 carrot, sliced

1/2 sliced onion

1 small yellow potato, chopped

First, I sliced the veggies and heated two cups of water on the stove in a small saucepan.  I next added the onions and carrots, along with a broken stick of Chinese bean curd and let them simmer for about five minutes.   When all of the vegetables looked as though they were finished,  I mixed in 1 Tbs of dashi and let it all simmer for a minute.  Next, I added 1/4 cup of aka (red) miso paste to 1/2 cup of hot water, mixed it, and then combined it to the pot of simmer veggies.

 itadakimasu! (いただきます) bon a petit.

Pretty easy!  A tasty, protein-packed vegetarian meal in just 10 minutes.  It was salty and made me crave rice! lol