POTATO & NORI MISO SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preparing the ingredients. Scrub the potatoes with a brush or cloth under running water. Cut them into quarters if they are small (like in the video). If slightly larger, cut them into six or eight pieces. You want the final pieces to be around 1/2" so that they are easily eaten with chopsticks. Cut the abura-age into three equal strips, then turn them 90° and cut them across into 1/4" wide pieces.
Cooking the soup. Combine the kombu dashi, potato, and abura-age in a sauce pot and quickly bring it to a boil. As soon as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer. Continue to cook until the potatoes are just tender. Test this with a bamboo skewer. The skewer should easily penetrate to the center of the potato with little resistance. As soon as they are, add in the soy sauce and the sake if you are using it. Finally stir in the nori and cook for one minute.
- Stirring in the miso paste. Using a ladle and a set of chopsticks, slowly whisk in the miso paste. Don't allow the soup to boil at this stage or the miso will develop a grainy texture and an off aroma. As soon as the last of the miso has been added, remove from the heat and serve.
Note
MISO TYPES. There are generally three types of soy based miso: white (shiro), yellow (shinshu), and red (aka). There are also different textures that you will come across, but the general differences between the three color categories are the main thing to understand for now.