Foodie Fridays: Easy Miso Soup

A while ago my husband sent me a couple of packages of a product called Sea Snax (see image below) which he claimed were an excellent substitute for salty chips.  Unfortunately, I hated them as a snack!  They are just dried seaweed, and that is exactly what they taste like.  Fortunately, I came up with a way to (slowly) work my way through the packages he sent me - making miso soup!

Since I did not want to spend the time trying to locate the ingredients for dashi that traditionally serves as the base for miso soup, I was delighted to find a recipe for 15-Minute Miso Soup that uses vegetable broth instead.  Vegetable broth or stock is pretty easy to find in the soup aisle of any grocery store.  In my area I also found white miso paste in the dairy section of one of our stores, but miso paste is also available on Amazon.

The few remaining ingredients are also easy to find, especially if you decide to leave out the greens and tofu as I did the first time I made this soup (they are traditional, but I have had miso soup without either before and it is quite good that way).  I do love green onions in the soup so I actually increased the amount I added to one cup, but if you do not like a strong onion flavor stick with the lesser quantity.  Of course you can use regular nori rather than Sea Snax, but since I have so much of the latter that is what I used, and it works just fine (I even doubled the amount to use it up more quickly).  Somehow warmed and softened seaweed is totally different and quite acceptable to me compared to the dry sheets, so I think I may eventually be able to use up what I have by making this soup, thank goodness!

Easy Miso Soup

4 C. vegetable broth
3-4 T. white or yellow miso paste
1/2 C. chopped greens (such as chard) or baby greens (optional)
1/2 C. sliced green onion
1/4 C. firm or silken tofu (optional)
2 sheets nori (dried seaweed), cut into large rectangles

Place the broth in a medium sauce pan and bring to a low simmer.  While the broth heats, place 3 T. miso into a small bowl, add a little hot water, and whisk until smooth.  Set aside.

To the broth add the greens, green onion, and tofu (if using silken, add at the end of cooking) and cook for 5 minutes.  Then add the nori and stir.  Remove from the heat, add the miso mixture, and stir to combine.  Taste and add more miso or a pinch of sea salt if desired.  Serve warm (best when fresh).  Serves 2.

Note: The version of this soup I made that is shown above has greens added, but instead of tofu I opted for Asian-style dumplings (Nayosa Organic Thai Basil Vegetable Dumplings), which are an excellent addition, by the way!

From Amazon