Miso soup is a staple in Japanese cuisine and the Soup for the Soul. We enjoy it almost every single day, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As a Japanese home cook, I would also say that miso soup is probably one of the easiest soups you can make at home. There are many paths to making miso soup, but once you know the basics, you will be able to branch out and customize. The goal of this post is to arm you with all the important knowledge so you can make yourself a bowl of authentic miso soup at home any time of the day. And trust me, what you make will taste 10,000 times better than the Japanese restaurants or the instant ones.
What is Miso Soup?
Most Japanese meals are served with a small bowl of steamed rice and a traditional Japanese soup called Miso Soup (味噌汁). At its most basic, miso soup is simply made of 3 components:
Dashi (Japanese soup stock)Miso (soybean paste)Soup ingredients, such as tofu and wakame seaweed
Depending on the region, season, and personal preference, you can find many varieties of miso soup enjoyed in Japan. In addition to the classic tofu and wakame combination that I show you today, we also use different savory ingredients such as veggies, meat, and seafood to make the soup. That’s why we can never get bored with it. We’ll go over how it all works together in detail below.
How to Make Classic Miso Soup with Tofu and Wakame
In this post, we’ll master the most basic miso soup with tofu and wakame (seaweed). Once you know how to make this classic Japanese miso soup, you can easily make an endless variations by changing up the ingredients.
Step 1: Make Dashi (Japanese Soup Stock)
Dashi (だし・出汁) is Japanese stock and the base of many Japanese dishes. To make authentic Japanese miso soup, you will have to use dashi as the soup broth and not any other types of broth. Miso soup is not miso soup without dashi.
Five Types of Dashi
While you may not be familiar with dashi, it is actually the easiest and quickest broth one can make at home. There are 5 types of dashi that you can choose from. You can read this Ultimate Guide on how to make dashi if you are serious about making Japanese food at home. Japanese home cooks commonly use Awase Dashi (made with kombu kelp + dried bonito flakes) and Iriko Dashi (made with anchovies) for their miso soup.
Three Ways to Make Dashi
I make my homemade dashi from scratch because it is so much simpler and straightforward than making chicken or vegetable stock! You can find all the ingredients in Japanese and most Asian grocery stores or online. Click here for the video tutorial on how to make dashi from scratch. Some recipes online use instant dashi powder (dashi granules) for miso soup. However, I don’t recommend this option as most dashi powder brands contain MSG and additives and the flavor and fragrance do not last long. If you’re still reluctant to make dashi from scratch, try a dashi packet instead of dashi powder.
Step 2: Add Miso Paste
Miso (味噌), fermented soybean paste, is made from soybeans, grains (steamed rice or barley), salt, and koji culture (麹, a fermentation starter).
Types of Miso
There are many different types of miso in the market. In the US, most miso available at the mainstream grocery stores goes by colors, such as white miso (shiro miso), red miso (aka miso), and yellow miso. Read this post if you want to deep dive into miso. If you are interested in making your own miso at home, read about it here. Each miso paste and brand varies in saltiness and flavor. When it comes to miso soup, there is no “right” miso for your miso soup. All you need to remember is to adjust the amount according to taste. You can also mix two to three miso brands/types together for more complex flavors. If you have good quality miso, enjoy its unique characters by using just one type. Try out different miso and find your favorite! My favorite miso is this Kodawattemasu from Hikari Miso (slow-aged red koji miso) as the flavor is the most versatile. It has a more rounded character that goes well with any ingredients.
Miso to Dashi Ratio
How to Dissolve Miso
Put the miso inside a ladle and slowly add the dashi into the ladle. Stir the miso mixture with chopsticks and let chunks of miso dissolve completely. You can buy the following tools to help dissolve miso.
Miso Muddler (Miso Whisk)Miso Soup Fine-Mesh Strainer Set
Step 3: Add Tofu
There are three reasons why you add tofu last when you make miso soup with tofu.
Silken tofu may break when you dissolve the miso paste in the soup.If you heat the tofu too much, the water in the tofu will escape and it will become hard.Tofu is edible (and delicious) out of the package (try Chilled Tofu and Tofu Salad recipes) and does not require cooking. You just need to reheat it.
Two Types of Tofu
Silken or Soft Tofu (Kinugoshi Tofu 絹ごし豆腐) – Undrained and unpressed; the highest water content; a custardy texture.Medium to Medium-Firm Tofu (Momen Tofu 木綿豆腐) – Pressed; a spongy texture.
Two Important Cooking Tips
Add miso paste to the soup stock right before serving. You can cook the ingredients in advance, but wait to add miso until you’re ready to serve.Never boil miso soup once miso is added because it loses nutrients, flavors, and aromas. If you turn off the heat right before boiling, this temperature (203ºF/95ºC) is considered the most fragrant stage for miso soup. And by the time you are ready to enjoy the soup, it is an ideal temperature (167ºF/75ºC) for drinking.
Let’s Make Miso Soup with Various Ingredients
Besides tofu and wakame seaweed, you can add so many seasonal and year-round ingredients to your miso soup. Here are some simple ones: Although it is very common to cut tofu on your palm in Japan (you have probably seen this in Japanese drama or manga), it’s not required and I recommend using a cutting board if you have never done this.
Dense & root vegetables – carrot, daikon, potato, onion, gobo, taro, turnip, kabochaSoft & leafy vegetables – spinach, cabbage, leeks, eggplant, okraMushrooms – shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms.Tofu – aburaage (fried tofu pouch), koya dofu (freeze-dried tofu), yubaSeaweed – wakame, hijikiNoodles: cooked somen noodles
Health Benefits of Miso Soup
Japanese people drink miso soup daily as we believe this delicious, healing soup is a gateway to great health. Just like green tea, you can safely say miso soup is the elixir of the Japanese diet. Here are just some of the health benefits of miso soup:
1. Helps maintain a healthy digestive system
With its beneficial probiotics, drinking miso soup helps to improve your overall digestion and absorption of nutrients.
2. Good source of nutrients
Miso is rich in minerals as well as copper, manganese, protein, Vitamin K, and zinc. Therefore, drinking a bowl of miso soup a day is like taking a natural supplement for your health.
3. Good for bones
Miso soup provides many bone-building minerals like calcium, magnesium, and manganese, which helps to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis.
4. Improve your heart
The natural chemical compounds in miso, such as Vitamin K2, linoleic acid and saponin, are known to reduce the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol. To enjoy the amazing health benefits of miso soup, you will want to make your own miso soup. The instant miso soup will not be as good since they tend to contain higher sodium and may include other preservatives. There are some good brands out there, so just be sure to read the label. Now that you’ve learned how to make miso soup at home, I hope you enjoy this nourishing soup every day!
Other Variations of Miso Soup You May Enjoy
Homemade Instant Miso SoupVegan Miso Soup (with silken tofu and wakame seaweed)Vegetarian Miso Soup (with easy seasonal vegetables)Kabocha Miso SoupTonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup)Clam Soup (Asari Miso Soup)
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on Mar 3, 2011. The post has been updated with new images and a video on April 3, 2017. The post was republished with more content on April 18, 2022. The recipe and blog content were revised and updated on June 7, 2022.
