Tag Archives: miso

The BEST Miso Soup

Posted on by
Reply
I gotta say ….. hard to make a bowl of miso soup look exciting … but here it is, the best ever! I didn’t have any seaweed at home so added a few spinach leaves. Delicious!
  • 2 teaspoons dashi granules 
  • 4 cups water 
  • 3 tablespoons miso paste 
  • 1 (8 ounce) package silken tofu, diced 
  • 2 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch piece

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine dashi granules and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in tofu. Separate the layers of the green onions, and add them to the soup. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

I think the key to this is the dashi. You can easily make your own dashi at home – just look up a few YouTube videos, but for the amount I use, keep some granules in the freezer and it is ready whenever I need it.

We followed the miso sop with these tasty Japanese dishes ….. chicken karaage with 2 dipping sauces, pork and cabbage gyoza and garlic soy snap peas. Goes without saying that a Japanese inspired dinner needs a serving of rice!

I often serve Miso soup to accompany a few other dishes, and this makes it very easy to prep a bit earlier and just leave it simmering – don’t add the tofu or green onions until closer to serving time.

Yams with Miso Tahini Sauce

Posted on by
Reply

Slow roasting yams bring them to another flavour level entirely!  The skin gets lightly charred in spots, and the insides get creamier and smoother than ever.  Normally I love yams with just a simple touch …. butter, salt and pepper.  Lately I’ve been seeing recipes for a version that included a Miso Tahini dressing in place of the butter.  Given that I love all three ingredients, I decided to give it a taste test.  Instant winner – so delicious.

Miso Tahini

I had some cilantro around so tossed a bit of that over top as well.

How easy is this?  Dead simple.

Mix with a fork in a small bowl until smooth.

  •  2 Tbsp. tahini
  • 2 Tbsp. miso (I used white)
  • 2 tsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. water
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil

Garnish:

  • thinly sliced scallions
  • toasted sesame seeds

Wash and poke yams with a fork.  Give them a little love by massaging them with olive oil – season with salt and pepper.  Cook yams at 375 degrees until super soft and lightly charred.  (how long will depend on the size, have you ever noticed the variance??). You could also cut them into a few irregular pieces, toss in olive oil and bake on a tray, which would be faster.  Count on at least an hour though.

When deliciously soft, split open, season again with salt and pepper – scoop on the sauce and sprinkle over the scallions and sesame seeds.  Absolutely satisfying.

Miso Glazed Scallops and Greens

Posted on by
Reply

Scallops

Tender scallops, browned delicately and served over bok choy.  Yum.  In fact, you could use any greens, however the bok choy looked too good to pass by.

Ready for a 15 minute dinner?  This was so quick I couldn’t believe it.  If you want to make a full meal, just serve over rice.  In fact, by the time your rice is ready, the rest of this tasty dinner will be too. Dripping with the goodness of ginger and garlic the miso glaze adds the perfect amount of sauce to golden scallops.

  • 1 tbsp yellow miso
  • 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
  • 1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp fresh grated garlic
  • 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 2 baby bok chow, quartered lengthwise
  • 10 large sea scallops, patted dry (make sure to remove the side muscle)

GARNISH

  • thinly sliced green onions
  • toasted sesame seeds

Whisk first 4 ingredients and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl to blend.  Set sauce aside.

Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil, and sesame oil in nonstick skillet over med-high heat.  Add bok choy and cook until just wilted and browned lightly in spots, turning often.  Remove bok choy to serving platter.

To the same skillet, add a bit more of both oils.  Season scallops with salt and pepper and add to skillet.  Sear scallops until brown and just opaque in center, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.  Pay attention, there is nothing sadder than an overcooked scallop. :o(

Remove pan from heat and nestle the scallops in with the bok choy.

Add miso sauce to skillet, stir just until warm, about 3-5 seconds.  If it seems too thick add a bit more water.

Drizzle sauce over scallops and bok choy.  Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.

I think it took about as long to type this as to cook it ……