What kind of miso do you use for soup?
The most popular kinds of miso for soup are yellow, white, and red. Yellow is milder than red, which has a strong savory taste. Try white miso for your soups at first since it has fermented for only 3 months and has a milder, almost sweet flavor, perfect for soups.
It’ll be a great entry point into the other types of miso that can be a bit overwhelming initially. It is an acquired taste. It’s also the paste used to make miso soup.
White miso is called shiro miso and it’s the best entry point to the flavors miso soup can offer. Add 1 tablespoon of shiro miso per cup of water for your soup.
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Best miso paste for beginners
The lighter the color, the milder the taste, and usually, I purchase the white Miso. But any miso can be used with the rule to simply use less if using dark or red paste.
White miso is often called ‘Shiro ‘ miso.
My favorite brand is Miso Boom by PuroRaw, because it doesn’t have MSG and it’s pretty affordable:
The thick paste is incredibly rich with toasty smoky salt and sweet richness. This umami flavor has been an important basis for Japanese cooking since ancient times. Miso Boom has a sweet-savory, toastiness to it that’s great for beginners.
Miso soup is essentially made with dashi, miso (soy bean paste), and your desired ingredients. I’ll describe the process in detail here.
Various ingredients can be used in making this soup we use such as tofu and wakame. It is a traditional Japanese dish served with steamed rice and often another side dish like some grilled vegetables.
White shiro miso soup for beginners
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable broth (or dashi for a more authentic taste)
- 1 sheet nori (dried seaweed) cut into large rectangles
- 3-4 tbsp. shiro miso white miso paste
- ½ cup green chard chopped
- ½ cup green onion chopped
- ¼ cup firm tofu cubed
Instructions
- Place the vegetable broth or dashi in a medium saucepan and bring to a low simmer.
- While broth is simmering, place miso into a small bowl. Add a little hot water and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Add chard, green onion and tofu to soup and cook for five minutes. Add nori and stir.
- Remove from heat, add the shiro miso mixture and stir to combine.
- Taste and add more miso or a pinch of sea salt if desired. Serve warm.
Nutrition
This miso soup recipe is super easy. There’s a wealth of antibiotics to be had.
Miso paste is basically a blend of cooked soybeans, a ferments agent, and salt. There are many varieties of miso including colors ranging from ivory walnut to deep chestnut.
They have flavors from mild to spicy varying from bitter to even a bit sweet.
White miso rice has the principal ingredient and is low in soybean traces.
Yellow miso is the miso middle ground – not too strong and not too mild. This kind is fermented with barley and rice. Use this miso with heartier dishes and meaty, sturdy vegetables like eggplants and asparagus.
Avoid heating miso by directly boiling because it will kill the flavor.
How do you put miso in your soup?
Miso is dissolved straight in the broth after you’ve boiled it to warm it up. You shouldn’t boil the miso itself.
Miso soup is warm, comforting and spicy, with tiny bits of tofu and seaweed in every bite.
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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
