Recipe: Miso Soup (with ginger, barley and mushrooms)

MISO SOUP

"At home, making miso soup is easy. Natural food stores as well as Asian markets sell miso, usually in a plastic tub or bag in the refrigerator case. Ivory pale shiro or mellow miso tastes sweetest, while reddish aka and brown mugimisos taste progressively more salty and meaty. (The former is made with rice, the latter with barley.) Most intense of all, earthy hatcho miso is made only with soybeans.

Instead of dashi, the special broth Japanese cooks make using shaved fish flakes and sea vegetable, I use onion and ginger as the base for my miso soup. But like many Japanese, I also combine a light and a dark miso for the best flavor.

Creaming the miso in a small bowl with a bit of the hot liquid before adding it to the pot is essential. Omit this step and your soup will be full of bits of undissolved miso.

Once you taste miso, you will quickly see its potential for chili, stews, gravy and salad dressings. Stored in the refrigerator, it keeps for several years."

1 medium onion, sliced
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and sliced
3 cups water
1 tablespoon sweet or mellow white miso
1 tablespoon barley, red or rice miso
1/2 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 small portabello mushroom cap, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
Sliced scallion, green part only, for garnish

In a saucepan, combine the onion and ginger with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Discard the onion and ginger (or reserve them to add to another soup).

Place the miso in a small bowl. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the hot onion broth. With the back of a wooden spoon, cream the miso until completely blended with the liquid. Stir the miso mixture into the pot. Add the soy sauce and mushrooms. Heat 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked, taking care not to let the liquid boil.

Ladle the miso soup into bowls and garnish with some scallion. Serve immediately.

Each of the 2 servings contains 73 calories and 1 gram of fat.

VARIATION:
Add cubed tofu along with the mushrooms, if you like.

MEET MISO, THE SOY FOOD WITH FLAVOR EVERYONE LOVES:
While many Americans have tasted tofu, and a large number dislike its blandness, few know miso, the soy-based Japanese condiment whose bold, full taste they would probably enjoy.

In Japan and other parts of Asia, miso is a common ingredient. A savory paste resembling peanut butter, it is made by combining soybeans with a grain, most often rice or barley, and letting them ferment from three weeks up to several years. During this time, friendly bacteria produce a host of beneficial enzymes and help the miso develop a rich flavor.

Miso is appreciated for its flavor and versatility, and is eaten almost daily in many parts of Asia because its enzymes are believed to help digestion and provide other benefits. (The Japanese drink miso soup in the morning, as Americans drink coffee, believing it stimulates the body to help it get going for the day.)

Japanese and other Asian cooks commonly use miso in sauces and marinades as well as in soups. American chefs, too, are discovering it, so you may have unknowingly enjoyed miso as an ingredient blended into a salad dressing or barbecue sauce, or used to season a piece of grilled fish.

Source: Dana Jacobi for the American Institute for Cancer Research