This soup is so fast to make! And so beautiful and elegant. You just whisk miso paste into water. By adding shrimp, tofu and greens, it can double as a complete and light meal. Feel free to use leftover chicken or roast pork (or whatever else is at hand) in place of the shrimp if you are a clean eats meat eater or to omit it completely if you are a vegan.
I paired my soup with sticky rice balls. It is call Onigiri in Japan and is pretty much like the sandwich of Japan, they sell them everywhere. It's just seasoned rice with a filling inside rice shaped into a ball or triangle or any other shape, and wrapped in nor or topped with sesame seeds/other topping. So simple and so good! For the rice the best kind to use is short grain or sushi rice! I didn't put a filling in mine, I wanted to keep the flavors as simple as possible for my miso soup. So I just seasoned the water with a little sesame oil and a pinch of ginger, subtle but there. And sprinkle a little sesame seeds in the mix, you can covered them in the outside if you prefer.
.
Ingredients
5 cups water
1/4 cup white or red miso
Salt
1 cup frozen shelled edamame
4 ounces baby spinach (4 cups)
3/4 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
7 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Steamed short-grain rice and toasted sesame seeds, for serving
In a small bowl, whisk 1 cup of the water into the miso. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 4 cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Add the edamame, cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach in bunches and stir to wilt. Add the shrimp and tofu. Stir the miso mixture and add it to the soup. Simmer just until the shrimp are cooked through, about 1 minute. Season the soup with salt and stir in the sliced scallion. Ladle the soup into deep bowls and serve with steamed rice and toasted sesame seeds.
Sticky rice balls
To make the sticky rice balls , Just cook the rice based on the instructions, exchange the regular oil or butter for a teaspoon of sesame oil and put into a bowl, until it gets to room temperature. Add salt to taste , a little rice vinegar, and sugar if desired, like regular sushi rice, You could also add sesame seeds now if you like!
For the fillings let your imagination go wild! I did mine without fillings because the soup already have the shrimp, tofu and greens, but if you want them alone on another occasion you can use:
options: Mashed yams w/ soy sauce Shrimp Tempura Umeboshi plum (traditional) Leftover chicken Peanut Satay chicken Salmon Tuna avocado
Suggested Pairing
Fragrant, crisp white wine or a good Japanese sake.
You can covered your sticky rice with sesame seeds if you want....
You can add the sticky rice balls at the end inside your soup if you want that........
ENJOY IT!