Red Miso Soup with Tofu and Nameko Mushrooms (豆腐となめこの赤だし)

Today, I made something that I surprisingly have never ever made before: miso soup. Everyone knows miso soup…it's practically synonymous with Japanese cuisine. Of course, I grew up eating miso soup and my mother always makes it from scratch --- so delicious! When mom isn't around, I always made instant miso soup, but today, I challenged myself and made miso soup from scratch.

One thing I quickly learned is that making miso soup is not hard at all. I'm not quite sure why I felt so intimidated or never attempted this sooner. Tonight, I was determined to give it a go. 

Rather than make the miso soup you get at Japanese restaurants, white miso with tofu and seaweed, I went for my personal favorite: red miso soup with tofu and nameko mushrooms. There are different types of miso, for example red and white. White miso tends to have a lighter taste, whereas red miso is much bolder. 

I am picky about mushrooms, but I love nameko mushrooms. They are really cute, tiny, and tasty, and they really compliment this miso soup beautifully. They also have a glossy texture that I also quite like.

For my first time making miso soup, I was very very pleased with the results! I'll have to make it for my mother and see what she has to say. 

Ingredients:

- 1/2 container of tofu, cut into bite size cubes

- about 2 tbsp red miso paste

- 1 can of nameko mushrooms, drained (use fresh if you can get them)

- about 2 tbsp of fish stock powder

- 800 mL of water

Directions:

1. Strain your nameko mushrooms and rinse in hot water.

2. Prepare your tofu by cutting into bite sized pieces.

3. Make your dashi. I'm not sure if this is what you are supposed to do, but I just measure out my water (800 mL) and then added the powder fish stock. 

Before adding fish stock and after adding it

4. Add your dashi to a pan and bring to a boil.

5. Whilst the dashi is boiling, get your red miso ready. 

6. The recipe I was using said to add a ladleful of dashi to the small bowl of miso and then mix. I did it, but I think that's stupid.

My advice is that you add the miso directly to the dashi

Then use a whisk to make sure it dissolves into the dashi.

7. Once the miso and dashi are completely mixed, add the tofu.

8. Next, add the nameko mushrooms.

9. Bring the soup to a boil, then let simmer.

10. Once your tofu begins to float at the top, you are done! 

You can either serve immediately or reheat and serve later.