Miso Soup with Noodles and Shiitake

Ingredients

• 800 ml fish stock (or other clear broth)
• 3 tbsp miso paste
• Salt
• pepper (ground)
• chili peppers (1 red and 1 green each)
• 2 tsp wakame seaweed (Japanese algae variety)
• 150 g shiitake mushrooms
• 150 g thin Japanese wheat noodles
• salad heart (leaves and strips for garnish)
• 1 piece kombu (sea kelp, about 15x15 cm)
• 30 g dried bonito flakes (Hana-Katsuo, about 3 packed tbsp)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Heat the stock. Stir in miso paste until fully dissolved. Season soup with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Soak wakame in cold water.

3. 3.

   Clean mushrooms and cut into small pieces if desired; add to pot and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes. Wash, trim, slice chili peppers into rings and add to soup.

4. 4.

   In a pot, briefly blanch noodles in hot water then shock them in cold water immediately.

5. 5.

   Distribute noodles, mushrooms, salad strips, and wakame into bowls or deep plates, pour the steaming tofu soup over them, and garnish with small salad leaves before serving.

6. 6.

   For the dashi stock, wipe kombu carefully with a cloth; do not wash it.

7. 7.

   Place kombu in 800 ml water in a pot and slowly bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. As soon as the water starts boiling, remove the kombu. Then bring the water back to a boil again.

8. 8.

   Add bonito flakes to the pot, bring to a boil again, wait about 1 minute until the bonito flakes sink to the bottom, then strain the broth through a cloth.