Miso Archives - Poor Man's Gourmet Kitchen

Homemade Miso Soup with Tofu and Green Onions.

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.

How do you like your Dan Dan Noodle?

The Dan Dan Noodle is originally a Scechwan recipe, which in my opinion translates, “Hot and Spicy”! But the heat can literally be thrown out all together if you’re not really into that much of a kick. This recipe is a perfect example of how I “dumb it down” for my girls. Mostly because the flavor still exists, I just extract the spice so that their little mouths won’t set on fire. But if you want it in there for your self, feel free to throw in some chili flakes or some chili oil to pep it up a bit and you’ll love it. Aso, you need to decide if you want to use Ground Pork or Chicken. In this recipe I’m using Pork but it can very easily be substituted and it won’t change the recipe at all what so ever. In fact, I personally prefer Ground Chicken.

Now, that we’ve covered the basics, all you have to decide now is whether you want the Dan Dan Noodle on a plate or in a bowl as a soup. Just like deciding if you want it spicy or not, it’s just a simple additive of chicken stock if you want it to be a soup. Nothing to it, it’s that simple. On a side note, you can add some peanuts to this dish as well because it gives it a little crunch. I only mention it because you’re going to find that ingredient in other versions of this recipe if you’re doing some investigative research on the Dan Dan Noodle. I think here in America, P.F. Chang’s is ultimately responsible for bringing this dish to light. Other restaurants in the corporate chain like Typhoon’s and the like have added it to their menu as well because it’s a great gourmet Noodle dish.

Dan Dan Noodle Ingredients:

8 oz Noodle
8 oz ground Pork or Chicken
1 chopped Green Onion
2 tbsp chopped Red Bell Pepper
1/2 tsp minced Ginger
2 tbsp Black Bean Garlic Sauce
1 tsp Hoisin Sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 tsp Chili Flakes or Chili Oil (optional)
1 tsp Corn Starch (deluded with 2 tbsp water)

Garnish with Grated Cold Cucumber and Bean Sprouts
If you’re preparing a Dan Dan Noodle soup, just add 1 cup Chicken stock over the top.