Miso Soup With Mushroom

Miso soup is a simple Japanese soup made by dissolving miso paste into a clear dashi broth, often with tofu, seaweed and vegetables or mushrooms added for texture and flavour. It’s a staple in Japanese meals and is known for its savoury, slightly salty taste and gentle umami depth.

Warm a good dashi (kombu and bonito flakes or kombu plus dried shiitake for a vegetarian version), gently simmer sliced mushrooms until tender, add soft tofu cubes to warm through, then turn off the heat and stir in miso that you’ve dissolved in a little warm broth; finish with sliced spring onion. This keeps the broth clear, the mushrooms tender and the miso flavour bright.

Avoid boiling miso or cooking it at very high heat because prolonged boiling dulls the delicate aroma and can break down beneficial enzymes; add miso off the heat or over very low heat so the full flavour remains. Many experienced cooks and recipe guides stress this as the key to a clean, nuanced bowl.

White or light miso is the easiest and most forgiving choice for a mushroom and tofu soup because it is milder and slightly sweet, while red miso is stronger and saltier; many cooks keep both on hand and start with white miso, then adjust with a little darker miso if they want a deeper flavour. Taste as you go since miso saltiness varies by brand.

Miso can be a healthy addition to your diet: it provides protein, vitamins and fermented compounds that may support gut health, but it is high in sodium so people watching salt intake should be mindful; overall it is light, low in calories and can be very nourishing when balanced with vegetables and tofu.

Sure it can, use kombu plus dried shiitake to make a rich vegetarian dashi instead of bonito flakes, and check that the miso paste you buy contains no added fish or barley if you need it vegan or gluten free; many home cooks use this method to keep the soup fully plant based while preserving deep umami.