Adventures in miso soup making
Today for lunch I decided to make miso soup. I got out the kombu and brought it to the boil, turned the flame down low and dumped in some bonito flakes, strained the dashi, cut up the kombu and put it back in, put in some frozen peas to simmer, and then added some whole wheat noodles (really spaghetti but we'll pretend they were soba) and a dash of soy sauce. Yum, right?
Notice anything missing?
I...forgot...the...MISO!
My brain is definitely on hold until Anthropapa gets back.
PS: How did Japanese people store bonito before Ziploc bags were invented, without their houses reeking of fish? Did they just not mind the reek?
3 comments:
I saw a recipe for miso where you could make the dashi with shiitake mushrooms rather than bonito. I wish I'd copied it down. I haven't been able to find bonito in this area... then again, I haven't been able to find shiitake mushrooms, either! I've resorted to buying tetrapacks of "real" vegetable stock, which isn't remotely like dashi but is something.
Mmmmmm, miso soup, I'm hungry now.
I'm sorry, I laughed like a drain. It's evil to make fun of the misfortunes of others but...On the other hand, maybe there's some mileage in 'miso surprise soup'? ("And the surprise is..!") I've made so many dishes where I've discovered I've completely forgotten one final, vital ingredient which always turns out to be the bit which actually provides taste.
Helen, the simplest shiitake dashi recipe is:
Soak 4 dried shiitake in 4 cups water for 10 minutes. Heat to a boil, then remove from heat and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain out the shiitake and save for another purpose. Voila!
I wish I could send you some soup supplies...next time you take Kiko to the opera you must hunt out a good grocery store and stock up!
(un)relaxedded, no worries, it was pretty funny at the time. Lately I've been very parsimonious with the salt, which has led to many not-so-savory meals. I don't like extremely salty foods usually, so I guess it just makes me overly wary with the salt shaker.
Post a Comment