Pro tip: keep the kombu, let it dry and cool down. Slice it into thin strips julienne style, and toss it with some soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame seeds/oil, and chilis. Nice little side dish

Thank you

thank you ♡

You can also julienne it and put it back in the soup and eat ‘em

@Wardrobelion you can also make a second dashi from it.

A side info: if you have issues with your thyroid, be careful with Kombu. It contains especially much iodine! (much more than other algae like nori). As far as I know, the stock doesn't draw all the iodine from it, so there's a lot left in the plant itself, which you only consume by actually eating it. As "western" diets usually don't contain a lot of iodine (which is why it's being added to salt), algae can be a great way of enriching your diet. But one can have too much of a good thing, so be mindful of your daily intake. (don't know how long the iodine stays on your body, could also have a cumulative effect.) Cheers

Miso soup is much simpler, although you can make it with vegetables, dashi and miso as you like. But because it is simple, it is very deep. Only a restaurant would make it with the same attention to detail as in the video. In the video, the dashi broth is made from 昆布(kombu seaweed) and 鰹節(Katsuo-bushi: dried bonito flakes), but in our house it is basically 煮干し(Ni-boshi :dried sardines and horse mackerel). Dashi powder(だしの素: Dashi-no-moto, ほんだし: Hon-dashi) has been on the market for a long time, so you can use that, or you can buy miso that already has dashi in it. Just dissolve it in hot water and add the ingredients. There are also nori miso soups like the one in the video, but I have not seen nori miso soup with tofu in it (although I think there might be some somewhere). This is the first time I have seen soy sauce added. I don't usually put it in. There are other soups where soy sauce is added separately to the broth. If you add noodles, it becomes udon and soba. The basic ingredients of a home made miso soup would be tofu and わかめ(wakame seaweed). Onions are also commonly used. Miso soup with onions and 油揚げ(Abura-age: fried tofu), potatoes and onions, etc. I think almost any vegetable can be added to miso soup and still taste good. There is also miso soup with eggs and tomatoes. The most recommended is 豚汁(Ton-jiru / Buta-jiru: pork miso soup). Miso soup goes well with oil, and the fat from the pork makes it even tastier. For miso soup with tofu, for example, you could add a teaspoon of olive oil or cooking oil (so that some oil floats to the surface). Ingredients in pork miso soup. Thinly sliced pork, daikon radish, carrots, tofu, fried tofu, ごぼう(burdock root), こんにゃく(konnyaku), etc. are often added. This is a miso soup where you eat the ingredients. After removing the seaweed as shown in the video, the removed seaweed and dried bonito flakes can be added to 炊き込みごはん(cooked rice) or eaten as 佃煮(tsukuda-ni) with the seaweed and dried bonito flakes. Many households throw away seaweed, but the beauty of Japanese food is that it can be transformed into other foods and eaten without being left behind. Japanese people have been eating seaweed since the Jomon period (about 13,000 - 2300 years ago), so it is naturally edible, but if you get upset stomachs from eating a lot of seaweed, you may want to use it only in soup stock. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator😜

Lol yeah I've never met a Japanese person that actually "makes" miso soup, they all buy the ready to make powders Same with curry and ramen, they just buy ready to make powders and broths. But the difference between us is that their RTE food is actually high quality unlike what you imagine in America

@ꕥ jawns But you know, the freshly made one, as it is simply too delicious an addition, especially to ramen.

thank you ♡♥︎!!! i’m going to add hot chili oil to mine next time 🌶️

Domo arigato gozaimashita!

That was very thorough, wish I could upvote it twice! Thank you~

Miso soup is actually very common for BREAKFAST. A bowl of that with rice, an egg, mushrooms in the soup or even a piece of light fish is a full and very nutritious breakfast.

​​@Thalanox its* own. Too* hungry.

I also got some natto. Acquired taste for some but I love it, would work well for a Japanese breakfast

When I was a kid, mom would give me just a bowl of miso (usually leftover from the previous night's dinner) as breakfast.

@Thalanox That's why you should try the whole meal, even at breakfast! There's a certain concept called "One Soup + Three Sides" - the miso soup being the soup, there's a bowl of rice for carbs, and the three sides are: something raw (like veggies or fruit), something grilled (usually fish), and something simmered (egg or other poached protein)

I've never really found Miso soup on it's own to be able to serve as a meal. I'm way to hungry afterwards.

Great tip on using the strainer to dissolve the miso paste. I’ve always had problems with that, now I know better

@Silly Canadian The mortar and pestle is very multipurpose. It's fantastic for putting seasonings into to grind up a little bit to help it release extra flavour. Get the non-powdered seasonings, and then grind them a little bit in the mortar and pestle set to increase it's potency. You can also use it to make spice blends for things like poultry, and make sure to grind all the ingredients into a somewhat homogeneous media.

Light bulb moment for me as well

@Paul T Sjordal I don't think I'll run out and buy one of those just so I can do the same job a spoon does just as well

Better than a spoon: use a pestle from a mortar and pestle set.

I always used to dissolve the miso paste in a mug or small bowl with some of the soup liquid mixed in. It's probably not quite as convenient as using one of those strainers, but it does mean that I didn't need to go buy another kitchen utensil that will only see occasional use.

"We're making soup; just relax" is great cooking advice. Attempting to create soups out of whatever was on hand was how I initially learned to cook... and even if it doesn't come out particularly good, it would be quite the feat to manage to burn soup so that's one less thing to worry about!

@Thalanox Nothing wrong with turning a sad bread baking experience into croutons! 👍

Reminds me of "tosspot soup." What do you have hanging out in the fridge? Toss it in the pot, add liquid, and you'll have soup.

Somehow i saw Homer Simpson making a bowl of cereal before my inner eye

The same goes with learning to try to bake bread. If the bread comes out too dry or doesn't have quite the right texture, just rip it into small chunks and eat it with a soup.

Hi Chef John, when we make our dashi, instead of tossing the bonito flakes after we're done, we will take the bonito, add a little soy sauce and just put it over a steaming bowl of rice for a quick, simple meal.

Can you leave the bonito in the broth and just eat it as part of the soup?

Lovely, I was wondering if you could use it in a meatball base too.

Yeah, but that's not miso.

Thank you so much for sharing since I dislike wasting any food👍😋

Chef John's timing is always perfect.

enjoy!

Agreed😅

miso isn't just delicious for me, it's nostalgic. when I was a kid, we lived in japan for a while when my dad was stationed at misawa afb. I attempted to cobble together miso soup last winter from what I could get my hands on locally, which was... well, it wasn't bad. it wasn't a huge way off from miso, either, but it also wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I'm excited to try it with an actual recipe this time that doesn't seem too difficult.

I love chef John showing the full homemade route for basic dashi. But catch me out in my kitchen with a packet of Ajinomoto Hondashi 😂

@Bling Bling oh, absolutely! but our household uses dashi/bonito so rarely in our cooking, it's just much easier to have some of the instant cheat stuff for when we do XD

I would rather make it the classic way if I have the time. It's very self satisfying.

Same. I’m in Hawaii. It’s the go to for almost all soup and sauces.

Same!

This is a really good breakfast item for people looking for something savory and filling.

​@iluminameluna Everyone is different. Adding egg never helps keep the hunger pangs away for me. Nor does tea.

@llutac you can pour in a whipped egg into it while stirring quickly if you feel the need to add more protein, and you're not vegan. It tastes delicious and though light, it keeps your hunger pangs away once you're used to it for breakfast. That and a hot cup of tea with some cream. This was my routine, and VERY cheap, breakfast while I lived with my bio-mother, who restricted my grocery money from she 15 onwards though I worked a full time job, and went to independent school nights for high school. And yes, this was here in the US.

While working in Japan used to get a bowl of rice and pour some mico soup over the rice for breakfast. Nice memories.....

It's a good item, period. Breakfast, lunch, dinner... Bring it on

Miso soup is delicious. But filling? Not really, even if you pair it with white rice. That is all digested quickly. Maybe if you eat it with brown rice, but I don't like that very much. Or is there something else you meant?

Our first visit to Japan was just this month and I really enjoyed miso soup for breakfast! I'm looking forward to trying this.

@Komainu Indeed.

Poach an egg in it, next level awesome.

Homemade miso soup is definitely wonderful. If you don't want to make it, freeze dried miso soup packs are actually quite exceptional. If you have a container of miso paste you can add just a small amount to the soup after rehydration and it will be even better. Definitely go with dashi broth packets if can get them, especially if you're ordering the ingredients online. It will be substantially cheaper and most people really won't care or even be able to tell the difference.

@Kryovulkan it's fermented, so if you keep it in the fridge after opening I couldn't even give you how long it would last. I have kimchi I fermented back in 2021 in my fridge that is still good and it just gets better as it ages. Mold is pretty issue to notice, so if you see any, that's when you throw it out. If you're paranoid about it, follow the expiration date, but honestly, most fermented foods can last several years if stored correctly.

I've heard that miso paste lats for months after opened which is nice

I mean, you went the traditional route which is fantastic. But in our (Japanese) household we just use dashi powder (kombu, bonito, or a mix). The rest of the steps are the same though.

@Steve Williams That's crazy, given how there's literally no evidence for any of that by any reputable study. If you're gonna spread misinformation, you might wanna not choose a topic that's been debunked by common knowledge.

@Naokarma what you like is your choice. what I like is my choice, eat what you like. Here are a few concerns. These toxic effects include CNS disorder, obesity, disruptions in adipose tissue physiology, hepatic damage, CRS and reproductive malfunctions. These threats might have hitherto been underestimated. In the meantime, people keep using ever larger amounts of MSG unaware of the possible consequences.

​@Steve Williams Oh no, flavor! MSG is great, what's your problem with it?

​@Steve Williams Then you have bad taste. It's delicious.

Definitely go easy with the wakame if you're just starting out. I went too far with it the first time... But wakame can also make a really good seaweed salad.

Chef John your timing is perfect as I’ve been trying my hand at various Asian dishes and miso soup is on my list. Thanks for creating such amazing recipes that we can make at home. I also scroll through the comments for constructive recommendations. I ignore anything that doesn’t offer anything that doesn’t enhance or bring solid advice to the table.

I’ve been learning to cook some Japanese dishes. So far I’ve made Miso soup, Chicken Karaage, Tonkatsu, and Teriyaki Chicken. Ramen with bone broth is next.

@Secret Forreddit Thank you!

If you're trying new Asian dishes, you should check out the channel Marion's Kitchen; she has a million amazing recipes that are super easy. She and Chef John are my two favorite YouTube chefs!

Haha same thing for me, I'm actually making wontons tomorrow

This could not have come at a more perfect time. Been dreaming of making fresh miso soup from scratch for weeks now. I’m making this!

I've been making miso soup for quite awhile now. I've never thought about using a strainer to add the miso, it's such a great idea!

We have special strainers for miso in Japan. Some people use round ladles with holes. I just use a big spoon with holes.

So many wise words in this video. An instant classic. Can’t wait to try making it!

I swear Chef John is secretly collaborating with Aaron and Claire because the timing of both channel’s recipe’s today involving Dashi/Hondashi is just too perfect

@James Wisdom Their recipes will change your life.

@James Wisdom a Korean couple from Seoul, Aaron is the chef and Claire is the taste tester. Just search for their name as listed and enjoy. If you like the approach Chef John has to cooking, they’ll be right up your alley

@James Wisdom  Aaron and Claire are a couple who cook Korean food and quick and easy (Korean style) meals

Who are Aaron and Claire? I have a feeling a whole new avenue of food YouTube is going to open up to me.

🤣 We need Aaron telling Chef John "more green onions" and Claire doing her "Mmmm. Mmmm."

The script for this episode was very well written. There was a lot of rhyming at certain points and flowed very well.

I get tubs of white miso paste with dashi pre-mixed in at the Japanese grocery - it means I can have a mug of delicious miso soup every morning in about the amount of time it takes for my kettle to boil :)

This was the most relaxing cooking video I've seen. Are all of them so soothing to listen to? Bedtime playlist in the works... Oh, and the recipe was really interesting and sounds fantastic. I love miso soup, but have never made one as delicious as this looks.

The sushi restaurant my coworkers and I used to go to in Fremont, CA was run by a family originally from just outside Osaka and they were some of the nicest people around and would happily explain just about anything they made- including the miso soup. The put all of their fish bones and skins in a pressure cooker instead of bonito flakes. They would then add some of that concentrated 'fish stock' to the steeped seaweed tea - and they did describe it as tea. It gave the miso soup a much more 'fishy' flavor but also oddly made it coat your mouth because of the oil, fat and collagen coming out of the fish remains.

Really nice guide to miso from Chef John. Note: if you’re looking to save time, one of the brand powders used in making dashi is Hondashi. Widely used, easy to find, great flavor.

Misoshiru is one of those things that you do all this on a weekend when you have time and the in-laws are coming over. Most days you’re either adding your hot water from your tea water boiler to a pre-packaged mix or, if you have more time, adding dashi powder and miso paste to simmering water. Even for a busy person, misoshiru is still a very common part of a breakfast or dinner. This is lovely, though. Looks delicious.

Yum! Ive always just mixed miso paste in water and thought it was rather boring. Going to try to find some dashi! Would love to see an onion soup recipe, too!

Tips from me, on casual home usage, korean stock (i. e. One from boiled dashima, or the one from boiled dried anchovies) are interchangeable with dashi. So does doenjang and aka miso. Also, add more filling to your miso soup (think, clams, salmon, chicken even pork) to change side dish into nabe-mono.

Just like my mother made! She was dabbling in gyotaku, a traditional Japanese printmaking technique, and she decided to make miso soup. Two types of miso. Steeping the seaweed. So delicious!

Thanks you so much Chef John !! I've wanted to learn how to make miso soup for years, you're a legend

Ive been meaning to learn to cook this. Great video!

There is a variation called "Tonjiru" where pork belly slice and some root vegetables are added to the soup. Usually it's served with a shake of Shichimi flakes, combination of 7 spices. I imagine someone will just add cayenne there

I’ve missed Chef John… I fell off the cooking wagon but this has inspired me!

This recipe has my mouth watering, I think I just found my next meal!

I normally have to adapt certain recipes to meet my diabetic needs. This one is perfect from the start. Thanks John

@Thalanox Thanks for that. Miso salt is fine. There is a difference between table salt and the natural salts found in soy beans. Avoid table salt like the plague! You should only use natural sea salt, and yes, in moderation. Everything in moderation

I don't know the specifics of diabetic diets, but one thing about miso paste that you might want to be aware of is it's sodium content. It can get salty. The red miso paste is saltier than the white paste.

Thank you for taking the mystery out of this for me. Souplantation used to offer this and it was my absolute favorite! I haven’t been able to enjoy it since.

Chef John has one of the best senses of humour I've ever seen - because we got epically trolled with the silken tofu 😭😭😭😭 10/10 no notes

One of my favorite soups. The smell when you add the bonito is amazing. I have to go to an Asian grocer an hour away each way to get it and it’s so worth it.

I love homemade miso. Thanks for posting this, Chef.

You know it's good when Chef John can't stop eating it during the video.

If you want to be even lazier, you can buy miso paste with the dashi mixed in already. Keeps forever in the fridge as well. If you want a really nutritious, easy make anytime meal. Have that miso paste, dried noodles, Wakame and frozen pea/corn/carrot mix. Throw everything together in a pot of water and you're done.

IF you want to be even, even lazier, you can buy single-serve packets of miso paste with dashi and wakame mixed in already. Just squeeze the packet into a bowl and add boiling water. Add tofu and scallions if you're feeling fancy. It's so close to the real thing that I never bother to make miso soup from scratch.

When we were kids and we’d get sick, my mom would cook rice into it, like a porridge, and poach an egg in it as well. It was the best!!! Restores your body and soul.

Cats love Bonito flakes, dry or wet. Can even buy them specifically for cats. It's one of the things my old cat would always look forward to as a treat or to entice her to eat. In fact my friend got 'mad' because I sent them for Christmas for her cats, which they then started demanding and she had to buy more.

I love miso soup but hot and sour soup is my favorite. It would be amazing if you would show how to make it. I have tried a few times and I keep messing it up somehow. Thanks!

One of my Japanese cook books (written in English, thank goodness!) suggests that the kombu and bonito flakes can be used again, to make "second dashi." It is, of course much less flavorful than "first dashi" but it is good for lots of things. I'm not sure whether the suggestions below about the various ways to eat the kombu and bonito after making the dashi would still be good after second dashi. What say you, Rousseau? Also, I have come to depend upon my faithful jar of tom yum soup paste. I almost never make actual tom yum because it is quite pepper-hot. But I find that as little as a quarter-teaspoon of it really perks up lots of soups.

CHEF JOHN: "Taste for additional soy sauce, a pinch of salt, or cayenne; mine needed nothing." CAYENNE: (weeps softly in the corner)

Miso soup is simple and complex, like you say. There is beauty in keeping it simple, I prefer to add only 1 or 2 ingredients other than the dashi and miso, that would be usually daikon radish, wakame & tofu, abura-age (fried bean curd) and wakame, bean sprouts, or grilled green onions (the white parts only). This allows you to enjoy the taste your ingredients impart to the miso soup. You can also play around by changing or blending different miso like Chef John did, or play around with the dashi by adding niboshi (little dried fish... my favourite is dried flying fish) or mackarel bushi instead of the standard bonito bushi (katsuo bushi).

This is awesome. You should do a hot and sour soup.

Wow! Thank you! That's how my MIL and wife make it. Way to go!!!

Nice recipe, do you also have a recipe for the clear onion soup that is served at Asian restaurants as an appitizer? Thanks

This soup always makes miso happy!

was searching the comments for this "me so" joke

😊

If you can't get bonito, don't worry. There are many different types of Dashi that don't use it. You can use dried baby anchovies or sardines instead to flavor the broth. And don't throw away the Kombu after using it. Just slice it up julienne style and toss it in a pan with some water, soy sauce, sugar, chilis, and mirin until it absorbs all of it. Very tasty side dish.

Although I have no interest in making this I thought it was a beautiful bowl of soup. Like a Japanese painting. By the way this is the first time EVER watching Chef John that I knew I would not be making the recipe. Thanks for always bringing us interesting and delicious content Chef. 😘

I adore miso, but I tend to use the instant varieties, I am going to have to follow the recipe and try it from scratch.

5th generation Japanese American here. I very rarely make dashi from scratch. Usually just for new year's when I'm with my family and we're doing a number of different dishes. Soba for new year's eve, ozoni for new year's day, and I'll make niboshi (second stock) for my mom to use for nishime. Other than that, I just use instant dashi.

We cook miso soup few times a week, but usually resorted to use dashi-infused miso. Chef John did it genuine, very respectful way to extract dashi, and used own miso blend. Absolutely hats off 🙇‍♂

Since the tofu I got at the nearby grocery store was pretty poor quality, I just did an experiment for a substitution: I cubed up some sweet potato, spiced and roasted it as if for the food wishes sweet potato chili, and then added that towards the end of making the soup. Obviously quite different, but I think it was pretty good! 😋 Once again, thank you Chef John!

I watched this as I ate my fresh soup. thanks for your lovely work. I'd like to see a beef jerky episode if you haven't done one yet.

I greatly prefer wakame over hijiki, mostly for the texture, but maybe I just haven't been softening it enough. The wakame just needs hot water for a couple of minutes.

Well done, tshould lived in Japan 11 years in my life was born there and that was 1 of the best simple versions of how to make the soup.

I use dashi power in these little tea bags with red miso. Works great!

Oh cool and thanks Chef John on showing how to make miso soup and I never thought it as a tea 😮 hehe, I went to Asian supermarket and bought miso soup mix 😏✌️ Happy Lunar New Year 🐰🏮

I made this 14 hours ago for the first time! Round 2 tonight! Miso is in our midst, y'all.

thanks, i do! it's so easy, seaweed, fish flakes, and a nice decent miso paste.a little sake too

*I can verify that about 95% of Japanese use "hondashi" powder! It's quick and simple and makes it easy to use for many different soups and broths. I am NOT boiling up konbu and bonito flakes! 😂*

I haven't watched your work for quite a while, come back and remember how you always bring me a smile... 😋🙏

I made a dashi using dried anchovies instead of bonito flakes a while back, iriko dashi I think it is called. One taste and I was transported to a lovely day at the ocean, though my body was still in Salt Lake.

Beautiful, thank you chef. I just love miso.

Really cool video Chef John. Thank you.

I've seen variations where you make a broth with a mixture of vegetables of your choice and a smaller amount of kombu if your kombu supply is limited. Even a broth with onions and a big slice of ginger will do the trick if you don't have kombu.

We add sliced fish cake or drop in a scrambled egg. Great on cold days.

thank you chef john! I love it when you travel!

I tried some instant miso soup and fell in love with it for lunch... I just want something quick and tasty. The Japanese have a clever cuisine. I might try this sometime.

FYI: there is a good decent brand of Miso on the market that is a blend of white and red already.

You can also make a dish with the kombu and bonita after you use them to make your dashi. It is called Tsukudani.

"Tsukuda-ni (佃煮)" is a general term for the strong salty (and a bit sweet) flavored sidedish cooked with soy sauce and sugar, which goes with rice very well, lasts long in fridge. The ingredients can be vary, including konbu, mushrooms, small shrimps and fish, Shiso leaves and seeds, Fuki stems, beef strips, walnut and some insects.

Thank you. I’ll look up the recipe👍😋

Pro-tip from an American who's lived in Japan for 14 years: Try making a red miso soup with clams in it (and nothing else). It's the best--and the version of miso soup most commonly served with sushi.

(Another thing I would say is that wakame is much more common than hijiki with the matching ingredients of tofu and green onions. Though, miso soup recipes are regional, so who knows in some parts of Japan. There is a miso soup with aburaage, hijiki, and carrots that is fairly common in Tokyo and Kansai though.)

I'd love to see your take on Okonomiyaki. Cheers for the video.

John, As always a great video. I continue to recommend your channel to hundreds. It is really important not to add the Miso when the soup is boiling or 2 hot. You can ruin and kill all the helpful living stuff in it including its amazing nutrients. Also you can get dry dashi granules in a jar already made, so you just add the other stuff. Thanks again.

Le gasp! A Chef John recipe without any cayenne! Looks good, though. We usually use dashi powder when we make it. Comes out super well. Though making dashi from scratch is still really easy, so there's no big reason to not do so...

Another pro tip: keep the leftover bonito and konbu, let it dry, and whiz it up to make (with other ingredients maybe) furikake, a traditional rice seasoning. Zero waste kitchen!

Just watching this made warmed my winter chilled bones! Thanks, Chef.

The dashi granules work fantastic! Look for "Hon-Dashi" brand it shouldn't be expensive if it is look elsewhere. You can have miso soup in minutes without any fuss. I like wakame or hijiki. Just be sure not to bring the soup to a boil as it supposedly destroys the added health benefits associated with miso as well as taste.

Thank you John, so happy you posted this Miso soup! Yummy

One of those amazing and mysterious flavours is umami from the naturally occurring MSG in kelp.

Wow this was super easy. I'm definitely making some as soon as I can get some of these ingredients off Amazon.

Chef John! I literally picked up tofu to make this soup yesterday. get out of my head! :) thanks for the video, i'm going to give your variation a try! 🌺

Great miso mixing tip! Thanks.

Looks amazing

nice! one of my favourite soups. if someone has a fish/seafood allergy, is there an alternative to bonito flakes? Thanks!

Great basic miso soup recipe!

I don't know why watching this makes miso hungry.

I was very impressed, and yes 90% of Japanese use dashi powder. I did laugh at the spoon, just drink from the bowl!

For some reason in the UK trying to find Dashi powder has been difficult (if you prefer not to use Amazon) and Bonito Flakes are stupidly expensive. A cheap and Vegan alternative is to use the soaking water from Shitake, not quite as good but close. Also dry your Kombu and Bonito, blitz it in a food processor and add some black sesame seeds and you have a lovely rice topper - no need to waste anything food wise in this world.

Could you do a Hot & Sour soup next?

I love, love, love miso soup! Thank you for the recipe. 💜😃

question, chef: in your video, you asked if you're not ordering this soup then what are you ordering? my answer to this question is to ask my own: have you ever had tom yum goong? and would you consider doing a video of this spicy chicken soup?

Like, like, like (yes I did). I know I could have probably search for this recipe, but I never did; and now I know

Chef John being the hero of the inaka foreigners who have to cook because they live in the Japanese countryside and there are no restaurants and very few foreign ingredients at the grocery stores.

Almost right… Tofu goes into the dashi at the very beginning of a final preparation, and scallions/green onions go right after miso paste.

tofu goes into the bowl not the pot

Great video as always. One thing though: you’re supposed to pick up the bowl and sip it :)

Oh my gosh you've read my mind. I'm so happy. I order these all the time and wanted to do them myself since I have to watch my salt.

Miso is very salty.