Miso Soup

Although I bake a lot of sweet goods but if you've noticed, I almost always reduce the sugar needed. Firstly, overly sweet stuffs can sometimes mask the taste of whatever flavour you want to bring forth (although in some recipes, sugar is exactly the ingredient needed to bring out the flavour). Secondly, I just don't prefer sweets on a personal level. At the very core, I am a savoury person or a sweet & savoury person the least. Thirdly, it is slightly kinder to the waist and more suitable for our seniors to enjoy. That's why if you had follow any of the recipes here, you might feel that the bakes are sometimes not as sweet. You still have to take note when reducing the sugar in recipes though, because sometimes, sugar will affect the outcome of your bakes.

There are times where I've had too much sweet food till my body (and mind) starts to crave for salt. Of course, I wouldn't be shoving tablespoonfuls of table salt into my system. Heehee.. But rather, I'll start craving for bacon, salted fish, ikura (salmon roe), uni (sea urchin), the likes of it and mm mm yes..... Miso soup. 

The base of miso soup is dashi stock. For the purists, sure you can make your own from scratch but sometimes, you just want to have a bowl of miso soup like now NOW. The instant packets ones just won't do, they are way too salty.

Miso Soup (makes roughly 12 Cups, serves 6 big bowls)

 2 litres   Dashi stock

          OR

 2 litres   Water  +  20g Instant Hondashi (more or less according to taste)

 150g     Silken Tofu, 1cm cubes

 3 tbsp   Dehydrated Wakame, soak in water for 10mins

   50g     Miso paste, red or white (adjust to taste)

Optional

   20g    Spring onions (aka Scallions), chopped

 300g    Chicken Breast or Thigh, cut into rough 2" pieces

   20g    Dried Scallops, soak in water for 30mins

If using chicken breast/thigh, marinate in some light soya sauce, white pepper and sesame oil for at least 30mins.

1. Bring Dashi stock to boil. Add in the dried scallops and chicken breast/thigh (if using). Let boil for few minutes till meat is cooked. Turn the heat down and maintain the stock at a simmer.

2. Ladle some dashi stock into the Miso paste. Dissolve the paste and return the mixture into the simmering dashi stock. Taste and adjust flavours accordingly. 

3. Add in the Silken Tofu cubes and rehydrated Wakame. Simmer for another minute and heat off. Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve.

It's raining hippos and rhinos as I typed this post and nothing is better than a bowl of hot, salty miso soup! 

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