15-Minute Miso Soup with Tofu and Wakame

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The little lacquer bowl of miso soup that lands before the grilled beef arrives is mostly about two things: a clean dashi and miso that never sees a boil. This version builds a quick kombu-and-bonito dashi in about 10 minutes, then whisks in a blend of white and red miso off the heat so the broth stays sweet, cloudy and aromatic instead of gritty and flat. Silken tofu, wakame and scallion finish it.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cold water
• 1 piece dried kombu, about 4x4 inches
• 1/2 cup loosely packed katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

• 3 tbsp white (shiro) miso
• 1 tbsp red (aka) miso
• 8 oz silken or soft tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp dried cut wakame seaweed
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce, optional
• toasted sesame seeds or shichimi togarashi, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Put 4 cups cold water and the kombu in a medium saucepan. Set over medium heat and bring it slowly toward a simmer, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch for small bubbles clinging to the sides of the pan and steam rising — pull the kombu out just before the water reaches a full simmer (around 175°F). Boiling kombu turns the broth slimy and slightly bitter.
2. Turn off the heat, add the bonito flakes, and let them steep undisturbed for 3 minutes. They will sink as they hydrate. Strain the dashi through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or clean pot; do not press on the flakes, just let them drain. You should have about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of clear, faintly smoky broth.
3. While the dashi steeps, put the wakame in a small bowl, cover with cool water, and let it soak 5 minutes until it unfurls and softens. Drain well and squeeze gently.
4. Return the strained dashi to the saucepan over medium-low heat and bring it to a bare simmer, about 180°F. Add the tofu cubes and the drained wakame and warm through for 1 to 2 minutes. Keep the heat low so the tofu doesn't break apart.
5. Turn off the heat completely. Put both misos in a small bowl or ladle, add about 1/3 cup of the hot broth, and whisk or mash with a fork until completely smooth and pourable with no lumps.
6. Stir the loosened miso back into the pot. Taste, and add the optional 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce if you want a slightly deeper, saltier broth. From this point on, never let the soup boil — boiling dulls the miso's aroma, makes the texture grainy, and kills the live cultures in unpasteurized miso. If it has cooled too much, reheat gently to about 160°F, just until steam rises.
7. Ladle into small bowls, scatter the sliced scallions over the top, and add a pinch of sesame seeds or shichimi togarashi if you like. Serve immediately.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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