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What is the best miso soup (miso shiru)?

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boroboro

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I grew up in Denver. I always believed that my mother made the best miso soup. She woulld use shaved bonito flakes and kombu for the broth, white miso (green and orange packaging on a white plastic tub), tofu, green onions, sugar, and sea bass or tuna sashimii scraps. I've tasted and enjoyed many varieties and recipes for miso shiru but I think mom's is my favorite. What is your?
 
Your mom's soup sounds delicious although I've never had sugar in my miso soup. I like mine with shiro miso and strong dashi flavor.
I like simple kind with two ingredients at most; seaweed & tofu, seaweed & potatoes, clams, tofu & nameko mushrooms, tofu skin & seaweed.
 
Hello Misa. Just a pinch of sugar to take the edge off of the shiro miso. I also like simpler miso shiru as well. It's all about the balance of flavors for me. Do you believe in the superstition of using odd numbers of ingredients for good luck?
 
My favorite miso ingredients are pumpkin, clams, onion (regular, not green, though i like green onion too!), carrots, mushrooms and seaweed (not all together of course!!). one of the many japanese cooking magazines that i bought had a book inside explaining 40 different kinds of miso shiru!! i tried a bunch and they were all great!
 
boroboro said:
Do you believe in the superstition of using odd numbers of ingredients for good luck?
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No, actually I've never heard that superstition. Where did you hear it, if I may ask?

There are so many ways to make miso shiru; in Kanto area where I grew up, it's often made with Aka miso(saltier and stronger flavored miso compared to Shiro miso), and as you go up North, they make it even stronger; in Kansai, more delicate miso shiru made with Shiro miso is a tradition.
 
It was my mom. I think it was a carry over from making maki sushi which she insisted must have an odd number of ingredients in the middle.
 
I have tried and do like baby clams with tofu or seaweed. A health food type restaurant here makes a thick and hearty miso soup with carrots, mushrooms, nori and zucchini which is good but a little bit too different for me. One of my other favorite restaurants uses just tofu and seaweed with a thin soup and my aunt makes a killer soup that has abalone, tofu and nori. Is the pumpkin miso shiru made with kabocha pumpkin?
 
boroboro said:
Is the pumpkin miso shiru made with kabocha pumpkin?
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Yes it is made with kabocha pumpkin. when i came back from Japan i had a hard time readjusting to american vegetables, and i am still searching for a good squash that is like kabocha. i bought a buttercup (not butternut) squash, and it's downstairs, but i haven't tried it yet. it looks like kabocha, but we'll see!!

zucchini sounds very interesting, by the way. i'm not sure how well it would work in miso - it seems very odd!! i highly recommend making clam miso soup. i had it once when i was in Takayama, and i've made it a few times, and both were excellent!! if you like i could dig up the miso recipe book i have to give you more ideas to try. it is a japanese book, so they aren't westernized ingredients (which i try to stay away from).
 
I don't know what part of the country you're in but I bet there is probably a resource for kabocha where ever you are. I just googled kabocha colorado and got several hits. Of course it's a seasonal item but I've even seen them at our local flea market. I'll probably try one the next time I see some. I've only had it cooked tempura style before. Thanks for the offer on the recipe but I think with just the idea I can make something oishi. I'm a mountain born and raised sansei who had a mom that loved food and was a great cook and I think I inherited a bit of that from her. But again thanks for the great ideas and best regards and good eating to you kamakiri.
 
boroboro said:
It was my mom. I think it was a carry over from making maki sushi which she insisted must have an odd number of ingredients in the middle.
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Hello, boroboro!
Yes, odd number is regarded lucky. It is a tradition brought in from China and its ying-yang philosophy & traditions. Odd number is applied not only to ingredients, but also to the number of dishes served in authentic traditional Japanese meal (3, 5 or 7 dishes) and number of plates or bowls sold as sets (usually 5 per set).
Even number of dishes/plates are reserved for funerals.

The tradition that your mother insists on is fading, especially among the urban young, in Japan. When I first went to the US (decades ago), I discovered a lot of Japanese traditions disappearing in Japan thriving and preserved in the Japanese-American community. I just hope they don't disappear... ☝
 
Never heard of sugar in miso soup, either, but to each their own
Having made miso from scratch, I can say that the miso you make by yourself is probably the best, but that is a bias most miso makers have
I had thought that shiro miso was already sweet enough, assuming that it hasn't been tainted by alcoholic preservatives and other processes sometimes used to speeden up the manufacturing process...
miso is an active food item, and the modern methods many places use tend to kill the taste...but again, that is a personal bias
 
I wasn't able to open the links. Yogurt although unusual does sound like it would be an interesting addition. It sounds like there are a lot of things to try for the next time I make miso shiru. Thanks to all.
 
Buy instant miso soup pouch
Boil not water, but soy milk
Dilute the miso soup with the soy milk


 
味噌汁

boroboro said:
What is your?
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pedestrian ones like:


Recipe

Broth type could make a huge difference: niboshi/iriko might have cheapy flavor but it could give the sense of mom's cooking.

More important is the type of miso, like "aka-dashi" with red miso, a little less sophisticated but perfect for lunch; Kyoto-style white miso would go nice for dinner miso soup...
Link
 
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I like Shijimi Misoshiru (miso soup of a corbicula).
A corbicula
This includes vitamins B12 equal to glycogen and a lever making a work of a liver better.
Vitamins B12 prevents malignant anemia and is necessary for a work of the nervous system.
In addition, it includes iron content enough.
It is said that "miso soup of a corbicula is good for a drinker"

 
Oh, I love miso soup, and it's good for you. Well, I like mine with spinach, there is some tofu in it, but I don't really eat the tofu. There is also some noodle in it. I eat it at a place called 'Ahh!! Sushi!!' They obviously have great sushi.
 
Wow the posters in here's Miso comes in so many ingredients. The way I make mine is quite simple with the Miso plus konbu and a bit of tofu.

Recently I bought a packet of Miso, it is the light kind because it is from a different shop and it didn't have the one I usually buy which is the dark one, and my husband doesn't like it. Arghﾂ… so picky!
 
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