cook

I am feeling a little tired from the show last night. Sakai is still sleeping. I know he is really exhausted.  For an artist though, the work never stops.  Soon he will be back in his studio.  A bowl of miso soup can give us a boost of energy on a morning like this.  

I find a piece of daikon radish and deep fried tofu, Age, left over from making Inaris the other day. I will make a Miso Soup with these ingredients.  Using Deep-fried tofu, Age, in miso soup is very popular.  If you don't have age, you can substitute it with a block of medium or soft tofu.

RECIPE:

Serves 4

1 cup daikon radish, peeled and sliced into 1/8 inch matchsticks

2 pieces of Deep Fried Tofu, Age, blanched in hot water  or 1 block of soft or medium tofu

31/2 cups of Dashi (see link for recipe) or Dried Maitake Mushroom Dashi (here is the link for vegan recipe)

3-4 Tbls brown miso

1 scallion, chopped

Bring the Dashi to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer.

In a small bowl, dissolve 3 1/2 tablespoons of the miso paste in a few tablespoons of the warm Dashi. Add the mixture to the saucepan. Taste and add more miso paste, Dashi or water, depending on how strong the soup tastes.

Add the deep fried tofu and daikon radish pieces to the soup.  Bring to a simmer for 1-2 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Pour the soup into individual bowls.

Sprinkle each bowl with chopped green onion. Serve immediately.

Tip: Once you put the miso into the dashi stock, do not boil the stock but gently simmer

for a couple minutes unitl the miso is dissolved and the soup is heated. Reheating doesn't improve the flavor of miso soup so best if you serve it all at once.

If you are using age, make sure to blanch it with hot water to

remove excess oil.

I need to start with dashi(here is the link for the recipe)

because I used up my last batch.

Remove the Konbu before the water boils.

Turn off the heat and add the bonito flakes.  Let the broth

stand before you strain the flakes.

Voila!  In less than 5 minutes, you have a lovely dashi broth.

Dissolve the miso paste into the dashi. 

Add the sliced Daikon radish and Deep fried tofu, age, 

and bring to a simmer for a couple of minutes.

Turn off heat and garnish with chopped scallions or chives.