The lovely Jaymee Sire was nice enough to give me an early birthday present: a guest post! I am so, so excited that she's sharing her latest recipe here on M&PT, and her miso soup happens to be inspired by fresh mushrooms from the farmers' market.First of all, I love miso soup. My cousin Stacey (who you may remember from my Disneyland: Grown Ups post) is half-Japanese, and one of my favorite childhood memories is of her grandmother making miso soup from scratch whenever she came to visit. Secondly, I love cooking with different kinds of mushrooms. There used to be a time when I would limit myself to either button or portobello. Fortunately, those days are long gone. Mushrooms come in so many sizes, shapes, and flavors, and I'll take any chance I can get to learn about new, interesting ones. Thank you, Jaymee, for sharing this simple and delicous recipe for Miso Soup with Nameko Mushrooms! :)
Hello there! Let me first start off by saying I’m extremely delighted to make an appearance here on Mangoes & Palm Trees. I can’t tell you how many times Jullie Anne has shared her yummy and beautiful recipes over on e is for eat, so I’m excited to return the favor.
When I asked if she had anything particular in mind for the type of guest post she wanted from me, she mentioned that so many of her own recipes are inspired by markets…and encouraged me to do the same. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Alemany Farmers Market for the first time with my friend Devon. I cannot believe I had never gone before. Stalls and stalls of fresh produce, many of the same vendors you see at the Ferry Building, but much cheaper. (They also had equally delicious and inexpensive food options…and we cheerfully gobbled down pupusas after securing our bounty of vegetables).
When I asked if she had anything particular in mind for the type of guest post she wanted from me, she mentioned that so many of her own recipes are inspired by markets…and encouraged me to do the same. I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Alemany Farmers Market for the first time with my friend Devon. I cannot believe I had never gone before. Stalls and stalls of fresh produce, many of the same vendors you see at the Ferry Building, but much cheaper. (They also had equally delicious and inexpensive food options…and we cheerfully gobbled down pupusas after securing our bounty of vegetables).
While there, we spent a lot of time at the Far West Fungi mushroom stall, and I ended up hauling home about four different types of mushrooms for various dishes I had planned. The ones that initially caught my eye were these nameko mushrooms, and the lady helping us mentioned that they work great in soups…particularly miso soup. I was immediately intrigued. Not only had I never made miso soup before, but I love it (and was feeling under the weather), so it seemed like a perfect time to learn something new.
I immediately reached out to another fellow foodie friend, Richie Nakano of Hapa Ramen. Poor Richie has become my go-to source for many Asian recipes and patiently takes my call when I’m wandering around a Japanese market looking for ingredients. (He also supplied me with some of the ones for this recipe).
This recipe is actually super easy. To start, you’ll need to make Dashi, which is the soup base. You’ll need a four-inch piece of konbu. Gently wipe off any of the white salt residue with a damp cloth. Place in 2 quarts of cold water and bring just to a simmer (be careful not to let it come to a boil). Turn off the heat and let it steep for 30 minutes. Remove konbu.
Next, add a cup of bonito flake. Once again, bring to a simmer…and once again, take care not to let it come to a boil. Turn off the heat and steep one hour, covered. Strain and squeeze liquid out of bonito to get a good yield on the dashi. (As a side note…Richie says dashi freezes really well and is a good thing to have on hand…sorta like chicken broth. So feel free to make a bigger batch and freeze some of it).
During this process, you’ll obviously have some down time, so it’s a great opportunity to get your garnish prep done. Basic ones you’ll need are: firm tofu, (drained and sliced into cubes), thinly sliced scallion, and wakame that has been broken up into little pieces. You can also add leafy greens, such as bok choy leaves, if you like. (I added some later on for the finished photos). Richie says clams are also delicious.
As I mentioned above, I also wanted to add mushrooms. It’s a good idea to roast them before adding them to the soup.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, toss mushrooms with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, toss mushrooms with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
Once the dashi is ready, warm on the stove and push miso through a strainer into the soup. (Richie says you can also just stir in the miso for a Kyoto-style soup, but it will be a little grittier). I’ll be honest…getting the miso through the strainer was not the easiest of tasks, and by the time I got down to the last bit, I just dumped it in. So my soup was mostly the refined version, but I had a few specks of the miso as well. It still tasted great.
Add the wakame pieces to hydrate (this will happen almost immediately), and stir in the remaining garnishes. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.
Ingredients:
2 quarts water
1 piece konbu, 4” long, wiped clean with a damp cloth
1 cup bonito flake
1 bunch nameko mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp cloth
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup shiro/white miso
firm tofu, drained & cubed (I used about half a package)
2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
wakame, crumbled (I used about ¼ cup..but you can add more)
- Place konbu in 2 quarts of cold water and bring just to a simmer (be careful not to let it come to a boil). Turn off the heat and let it steep for 30 minutes. Remove konbu.
- Add a cup of bonito flake to the water. Once again, bring to a simmer…and once again, take care not to let it come to a boil. Turn off the heat and steep one hour, covered. Strain and squeeze liquid out of bonito to get a good yield on the dashi.
- While waiting for dashi, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss mushrooms with a little oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
- Warm dashi on the stove and push miso through a strainer into the soup to achieve the refined Tokyo-style miso soup. (You can also just stir in the miso for a Kyoto-style version, but it will be a little grittier).
- Add the wakame pieces to hydrate (this will happen almost immediately), and stir in the remaining garnishes. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.
