Starving when you get home? This recipe from Broccoli People - who brought you The Food Wisdom Ebook series to learn the fundamentals of nutrition - is a super easy, ready to make in 15 mins recipe.
Miso is a fermented soybean paste, made from soybeans, grains (steamed rice or barley), salt, and the fermentation starter. There are many different brands and variety of miso paste in the market, with different flavours that you can even combine together, and they are all a good source of probiotics! The good bacteria for your gut flora!
Homemade Dashi
The soup stock for a traditional Japanese miso soup is the famous Dashi, made from seaweed and dried bonito flakes. You can make it following the instructions below, or you can simply use vegetable broth.
4 cups of water 1 cup dried bonito flakes (omit for a vegan version) 10 gr kombu (dried kelp)
Instructions: 1. Clean the kombu with a towel, but don’t wash it or remove the white substance on it, that’s called umami.
2. Then soak it in water for 30 minutes or overnight. 3. When it’s ready, put together the kombu and the water in a pan and slowly bring to boil on low heat.
4. Remove the kombu before it starts boiling, otherwise it becomes slimy. 5. Add the dried bonito flakes. and simmer for around 60 seconds, turn off the heat, and let it rest for around 10 minutes. Avoid this step if you want a vegan version. 6. Last step is to strain it, getting only the stock from it, and that’s it! Ready to use, store for 4-5 days, or freeze!
Healthy Japanese Miso Soup
1. The important thing to remember is to not cook miso paste at high temperatures, because the probiotics are living bacterias and do not resist high temperatures.
2. You can use miso paste for making soups, sauces, and vinaigrettes. And if you love it so much that you could it eat it straight from the pot, just be aware that is very concentrated in salt, and too much could make you go to the toilet too often!
3. The general rule is to add 1 tablespoon (20g) of miso per one miso soup bowl (200ml dashi).
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients: 4 cups vegetable broth 10 g dried seaweed (1 sheet nori cut in slices or wakame) 3-4 tbsp miso paste 1/2 cup chopped green chard 1/4 cup chopped green onion 1/4 cup firm tofu (cut in cubes)
Additional ingredients: Cooking time 5-7 min: spinach, okra, mushrooms (enoki, maitake, etc), egg, and cabbage.
1. Place the vegetable broth or your homemade dashi in a pan and bring to a low simmer.
2. Then add the seaweed and simmer for 7-10minutes.
3. On another side, place miso into a small bowl, add a little hot water and whisk until totally smooth.
4. Add the tofu to the pan, and any other ingredients of your choice, and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Right before the end, add the green onions, and then remove from the heat.
6. As the last step, add the miso mixture, combine it all, and serve!
Written by Broccoli People | Mind Your Life, Mind Your Body
Miriam from Broccoli People has dedicated last decade to study nutrition, health disciplines, and latest researches, because she just loves it. She is certified in Fitness Nutrition by ISSA, International Sports Science Association, and in Advanced Nutrition by HKU Space, Hong Kong University, and after her background in science and consultancy, she has devoted herself to the promotion of health education in accessible ways through different projects and in several countries, because traveling is certainly one of her passions.
She emphasises the difference that knowledge can make on your daily food choices and eventually in the quality of your life, the importance of mind-body balance, and the benefits of mindfulness and physical movement for long term health.
She found that the amount of modern information around food and health can be overwhelming or confusing for many people, and as result, she has created the pocket book series
"Food Wisdom", to make knowledge accessible, simple, and practical.
