When it comes to “miso soup”, the most common image would involve a simple soup with tofu and wakame seaweed. However, in Japan, we make miso soup with a variety of ingredients. In fact, one of the tricks I use to volumize a meal is to make the miso soup more substantial and fulfilling with hearty ingredients. Today I’ll show you how to make Kabocha Miso Soup (かぼちゃの味噌汁).
Why You’ll Love This Kabocha Miso Soup
So easy to makeHearty, filling, and comforting all at onceFlavorful – savory, sweet, nutty, packed with flavorsPlant-based and gluten-free
Simple 5 Ingredients
To make this soup, you need 5 ingredients.
Kabocha – It’s available all year round. Check your Japanese and Asian grocery stores.Shimeji mushrooms – Or any mushrooms of your choice (you can use other ingredients too)White sesame seeds – Highly recommend not to skip them.Dashi-Included Miso – Read more about my choice below.Water – If you use regular miso, then use Awase Dashi (kombu + katsuobushi) or Vegan Dashi.
MSG-Free, Dashi-Included Miso
Dashi-included miso can be very useful when you live in a place where it’s hard to find dashi ingredients (kombu and katsuobushi). In this recipe, I used “Maru-Yu” Dashi Iri Yuki Miso by Hikari Miso. It’s organic and MSG-free, and it’s Awase Miso made with 5 types of miso. You can purchase this miso along with other Hikari Miso varieties at Japanese grocery stores or Asian grocery stores (like H-Mart). Just one thing to remember: dashi-included miso tends to be slightly saltier than regular miso, so adjust the amount and taste before you add more.
Itadakimasu!
You can enjoy this delicious Kabocha Miso Soup on its own or with the following recipes for a complete Japanese meal:
Instant Pot Brown RiceTamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette)Japanese Salted Salmon (Shiojake)Japanese Pickled Cabbage
Other Delicious Kabocha Recipes
Kabocha GratinKabocha CroquettesKabocha SoupKabocha PieInstant Pot Kabocha Flan
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