Miso soup
(misoshiru: 味噌汁)
For centuries the typical breakfast for Japanese people was rice and miso soup and waking up to the aroma of miso soup was a quintessential part of Japanese family life. Even today, for many Japanese, the word miso calls to mind images of good old-fashioned home cooking. Although in recent years it has become less common to see miso soup on the breakfast table as Japanese tastes become more Westernized, miso soup still remains an integral part of the Japanese diet. Miso soup is surprisingly easy to cook. All you need is miso, dashi (soup stock ), and a few ingredients such as tofu (bean curd), seaweed or vegetables. A typical brew of miso soup may include such ingredients as tofu, wakame (seaweed), and abura-age (fried bean curd) - but seasonal vegetables, seafood and meat also work very well. Indeed, given the versatility of miso as a base flavor, by mixing and matching ingredients, one may cook a diferent kind of miso soup for every day of the year. |
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