miso

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:  ish-ka

simple miso soup

simple miso with soba, sautéed crimini mushrooms, and scallion


utensils

pot and large spoon
frying pan

cutting board and chopping knife

collander

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:  Jurema Oliveira

soybean

ingredients

2 tablespoons organic brown rice miso paste for every 2 cups of water, or according to container directions 

a couple of bundles of soba noodles, more or less, depending on how thick with noodles you like your broth

a batch of green onion or scallion, cleaned and chopped, with root tip (but not bulb) and other end removed

a tiny scraping of fresh ginger root, about the equivalent to one very thin slice, minced

sautéed crimini mushrooms - prepared as blogged earlier, with the addition of sautéed chopped garlic (discussed below in procedure), and the omission of any salt.

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:  Jonathunder

A batch of scallions/green onion (Allium fistulosum)

at an outdoor farmers' market in Rochester, Minnesota.

 

procedure

1.  put a pot of unsalted water on to boil for your soba noodles. (if you are a stickler about your noodles sticking, add a little canola oil instead.)

2.  while water is heating, prepare your crimini mushrooms, as blogged earlier - except start your chopped garlic in the olive oil of that recipe first, and brown slightly, so that the garlic doesn't "boil" in the water released by the mushrooms. also - leave out the salt.

3.  when your soba water boils, add noodles, stir, and cook for about 3 minutes or according to directions on that packet.

4.  drain your noodles in a collander, rinse with cold water, and put aside.

5.  put desired amount of water in pot for miso soup, your miso, and chopped onions, fresh ginger scraping, stir and bring to a boil.

6.  lower to a simmer for about 10 minutes;  in the last few minutes, add your mushrooms, garlic, and soba noodles.


serve and enjoy!  do not forget to appreciatively slurp your noodles as is a customary courtesy in japan.

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:   Kurt Stüber

a buckwheat flower

more stuff

this simple soup recipe has many easy variations since you can successfully add so many different meats or vegetables.  and, of course, tofu is a favorite, as well.  other ideas include left-over meats, cooked shrimp, various greens, hard boiled egg, carrot, celery, yellow onion, white beans.  you can sauté raw ingredients like yellow onion or celery in a little olive oil at the bottom of the pot prior to adding your water and miso paste, and in lieu of scallions.

if you can't find miso paste at the store (rather, some instant packets) - try a local food coop.  i was only able to purchase them there, although the soba noodles were available in the asian food section of a regular grocery store.  on a quick google, i see that you can buy it online.

wiki reports miso high in nutritional benefits, especially in combination with tofu, scallions, or other vegetables, and bbc reported in 2003 that japanese researchers found that regular consumption of miso may lower women's risk of breast cancer.  brown rice miso paste is a mixture of soybean, brown rice, water, and salt.  there is a reportedly a wide variety of japanese miso depending on grain type, but as far as I found shopping, only a few types, such as red miso or white miso (made with white rice).

buckwheat, in the soba noodles, is also beneficial to your health, a grain that is linked to lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure.

one drawback to miso is sodium - so leave the salt out of your recipes since the miso paste has plenty!  on a quick google, i do see low sodium miso pastes available on line.  you can add miso to a chicken broth - or vegetable and beef stock, but be aware that this may not a good combination if your stock is already salted or your selected miso paste has a high sodium content.