Be a chef week - miso soup

The hardest part of making miso soup is getting in your car and going to the Asian market.  I'm serious, this is criminally easy.

What you'll need:

1) Dashi 

2) Wakame seaweed (dried) 

3) Shiro Miso 

4) Water 

5) Tofu 

When you go to the market, ask for Dashi which is a Japanese soup stock.  It will be easier to just ask rather than trying to find it.  There are different kinds, but you want instant dashi.  I like the fish dashi which is the most traditional, but you can also get a mushroom dashi or a kelp dashi.  You can make miso soup without dashi, but this will make it taste very authentic.  This is what it looks like: 

You'll also want some seaweed for your miso soup.  There is typically an entire section of the market devoted to these types of soup add-ins.  I have no idea what's in the different packages, so I go based off of the picture.  This is technical stuff, I know.  You do want to make sure that it has wakame seaweed in it, which most of them do.  

Shiro Miso.  You will love having this in your fridge.  You can make marinades, sauces and all sorts of yummy dishes with miso.  Miso marinated cod, anyone?  Yes.  

Tofu.  Get whatever kind and firmness you like, this is your miso soup!  

Recipe: 

4 cups water

4 Tbs. miso 

1/2 Tbs. dashi

tofu (I use about a third of a brick) 

1 to 1 1/2 Tbs. dried seaweed mixture (or more if you like a lot to seaweed in your soup) 

Literally all you do is bring the water to a boil.  While it's coming up to a boil, add the miso.  After the water has started boiling, reduce heat to medium and stir to break up the miso.  Add the dashi, stir a few times to dissolve.  Then add the tofu and seaweed, let it simmer for just a few minutes and you're ready to eat!  

And remember that in Japanese culture, the louder you slurp your soup and noodles, the more you are enjoying it.  It is a sign to the chef that you think it's delicious or "O-ee-she".  So slurp away!