Go Back
Bowl of homemade miso soup with silken tofu, wakame, and green onions on a wooden table

Easy Miso Soup Ready in 30 Minutes

A clear, savory miso soup built on fresh kombu and bonito dashi, with silken tofu, wakame, and green onions. Ready in 30 minutes with one saucepan.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 About 1 cup
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Japanese
Calories: 62
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the dashi
  • 4 cups cold filtered water
  • 1 piece kombu about 4 by 4 inches (10 g), wiped with a barely damp paper towel
  • 1/2 ounce 15 g bonito flakes
For the soup
  • 3 tablespoons white miso paste about 50 g, spooned into the small bowl
  • 7 ounces 200 g silken tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons dried cut wakame soaked in 1 cup cool water for 5 minutes, drained, and pressed dry
  • 2 green onions thinly sliced

Equipment

  • 2 to 3 quart saucepan
  • Fine-mesh strainer
  • Small whisk or fork
  • Ladle
  • Two heatproof bowls, one small and one large

Method
 

  1. Add the water and kombu to the saucepan and heat over medium for 8 to 10 minutes, until tiny bubbles cling to the edge and the kombu looks soft and ruffled.
  2. Remove the kombu with tongs. Raise the heat until the water just starts to simmer, about 2 minutes. Stir in the bonito flakes and turn off the burner once they sink, about 30 seconds.
  3. Steep the flakes for 2 minutes. Pour the broth through the strainer set over the large bowl, without pressing the flakes, until the dashi looks pale gold and clear.
  4. Pour the dashi back into the saucepan over medium low heat. Add the tofu and wakame and warm for 3 minutes, until the tofu steams and the wakame turns glossy and dark green.
  5. Ladle 1/2 cup of hot dashi into the bowl with the miso and whisk until it dissolves into a smooth, cloudy liquid with no lumps.
  6. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and stir the miso mixture into the pan. Warm for 1 minute, until thin wisps of steam rise and no bubbles break the surface. Taste and whisk in 1 more teaspoon of miso if the broth tastes thin.
  7. Ladle into four bowls with a few tofu cubes in each, scatter the green onions on top, and serve right away while steam is rising.

Notes

Never let the soup boil after the miso goes in. Keep the heat low and warm for 1 minute only.
Use about a third less red miso than white, and taste before adding more.
Storage: Refrigerate the finished soup in an airtight glass container for up to 3 days. Freeze plain dashi for up to 2 months, but do not freeze the finished soup.