Miso Soup

The Best Miso Soup

I love Japanese food and my wife and I order sushi quite often but one thing I like to get, as an appetizer, is Miso Soup. If you don’t don’t know what Miso is, I can tell you that it’s a Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed or other ingredients. There’s several different varieties of Miso but the most common are white and red. I’ll be demonstrating how to make Miso Soup using the red Miso and I’m going to show you how to make a soup with the most basic ingredients,Tofu and Green Onions.

Dashi ingredients, Kombu and Katsuobushi.

Dashi Fish Broth

Most soups are made from broths or stalks and this recipe is no different. The broth that needs to be prepared for this Miso Soup recipe is called Dashi and it’s really easy to make. All you have to do is combine Kombu(dried Kelp) and katsuobushi(bonito flakes or dehydrated Skip Jack Tuna) with boiling water and let it steep, like tea, for 10 minutes. If you don’t know what these ingredients are or where to find them, you can go to any Asian market and ask the attendants. I buy them both dehydrated and I just reconstitute them with the boiling water. The water absorbs the flavor, like tea, and creates the broth called Dashi. Then, all you have to do is strain the broth to make the Miso Soup.

Be sure to try my Red Sauce Wonton and my Wonton Soup Recipe.

Extra firm Tofu and fresh chopped Green Onions.

Tofu and Green Onions

As I mentioned above, there are several different varieties of Miso and there are also several different Miso Soups. If fact, eventually I want to show you how to make a spicy Beef Ramen Miso Soup that I think is just amazing but I’ve got to teach you the basics first so you understand recipe like that one, later. So today I’m going to teach you how to make a Miso Soup with Tofu and Green Onions.

Miso Soup Ingredients:

2 cups dashi
1 Green Onions, chopped
4 oz Tofu, Extra Firm
3 Tbsp miso

Dashi
4 cups water
1 oz kombu (dried kelp)
1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (1 loose cups = 10 g)

Just watch the video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy it is to make Dashi and this Tofu and Green Onion Miso Soup.

National “Eat Your Noodles” Day

What are Noodles?

When we think of Noodles we are very likely thinking very different things from one another. There are over 600 different kinds of Noodles to choose from. We have Asian Noodles, Italian Noodles and noodles in all shapes and sizes. We love noodles here in the PMGK. We have worked long and hard perfecting our noodle recipes and we are so excited to share many of them with you here.

Asian Noodles

Some of the best Asian Noodles come dried and ready for decades of shelf life. 40% of Asia’s flour is used for noodles and they feed over half the worlds population with it’s noodles. If you’re in a Japanese restaurant, don’t forget to slurp your noodles so they know you are happy with your meal. When it comes to Asian noodles there are many PMGK makes such as: Spicy Noodles, Garlic Noodles, Chicken Chow Mein, Rice Noodles, Eastern Chicken Chow Mein, Lo Mein. You’d think with all these recipes that we’d be good to go in the noodle department, right? But there are still some that we love to buy from the Asian Market. We recently discovered a spicy Korean Noodle compliments to our favorite local sushi restaurant. They don’t have noodles on the menu but we’ve seen them eating them at family dinner and we had to ask. The waitress is a fan of PMGK and was nice enough to give us a package to take home. PMGK loved them so much the next day we went to the Asian Market and bought a whole box of them.

Italian Noodles

Italian Noodles are my favorite. I managed a couple of different Italian restaurants in my teenage years and I learned a thing or two about Italian noodles. There are so many different kinds it’s crazy. Many people believe that Noodles were brought to Italy from China by Marco Polo during the 13th century. Others argue that Noodles was already gaining popularity in other areas of Italy during the 13th century so it’s hard to say which is true. One fact remains Italian Noodles are made with eggs and many other types of noodles don’t contain eggs in them at all. According to the FDA it is not a noodle unless it has eggs in it. I personally don’t care where they came from I’m just happy we have them. The first meal PMGK made me when we were dating was his famous Fettuccine Alfredo and his skills don’t stop there. He knows if he really wants to make me happy an Italian pasta is where it’s at. Some of my favorites that he makes are: Egg Noodle Lasagna, Roast Beef Stroganoff, Spaghetti with Meatballs.

Making Your Own Noodles

Noodles taste the best when they are made fresh from scratch. It may seem like a lot of extra work because dry noodles are already so cheep to buy. But if you’ve ever made your own you know that they are worth the added effort.

Spicy Noodles

The Best Spicy Noodles

If you love Spicy Noodles, you’re in for a real treat. I’ve created a fusion recipe by combining both Italian and Asian ingredients. It’s sweet, spicy and only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and cook, from beginning to end. It isn’t time consuming and the results are tremendously delicious. Plus you can add Chicken, shrimp or more vegetables if you would like to make it an entire meal. It’s totally up to you and your creative control.

Spicy Noodles, Italian or Asian pasta

For this Spicy Noodles recipe, I used Angel Hair pasta but you’re going to have to go with your gut on this one or just use what ever you have. I’ve made this successfully with Fettuccine and Ramen noodles. So, that’s going to be up to you. In the past I have professed, religiously, that it’s a cardinal sin using Italian pasta to make Chinese recipes like Chow Mein or Lo Mein. But, since this is a fusion recipe, those commandments don’t apply. The secrets to cooking your pasta, to attain the correct texture, is explained in my video tutorial.

More Asian noodle recipes I’ve posted include my Garlic Noodle, Restaurant style Chicken Chow Mein, Eastern Chow Mein, Vegetable Lo Mein with Ramen, Rice Noodles(soft or fried), How to make Pasta or Egg Noodles and a whole slew of Italian pasta recipes, too. All of which have the correct Asian Noodles or Italian pasta for each one. So, look into those if you want more options.

Spicy Noodles Sauce and Ingredients

The Sauce for this Spicy Noodles recipe is very straight forward and simple because I just combine 3 pre-made bottles of sauce; ketchup, sweet chili sauce and sriracha. Originally Spicy Sauce only contains the ketchup and sriracha, if you want to try it that way, but the sweet chili adds so much depth it can’t be denied. You can add soy sauce too, if you like but it really isn’t necessary. Even the sriracha might be a bit too much for some because there are already chili flakes in sweet chili sauce. So, that will be up to you. The other bottled ingredient you will need is sesame oil. If you don’t have it, it’s okay. This dish still tastes great with out it. You can even add chicken broth to a bowl of Spicy noodles and eat it more like an authentic bowl of homemade Ramen noodles.

Spicy Noodles Ingredients: Serves 6 to 8

1 pkg Angel Hair or Fettuccine pasta
1/2 gal Boiled Water

1/2 tsp Ginger, grated or chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
5 Fresh Basil leaves, chopped

Sauce
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha, optional

1 tsp Sesame Oil

If you want to add chicken or shrimp to this recipe, I recommend seasoning it first with salt, pepper and smoked paprika and you want to use red onion instead of green. Cook the meat with the garlic and ginger first, then add the red onion and noodles and proceed with the recipe as I have instructed in the Spicy Noodles video tutorial.