Seven-Vegetable Miso Soup

Name: Seven-Vegetable Miso Soup
Yield: serves 4 as a starter, or 2 as a meal
Ingredients: 1/2 cup burdock root, peeled and cut into 1-inch matchsticks; 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced; 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced; 2 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon soy sauce; Salt; 1/2 cup soft tofu, diced; 6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced; 1/4 cup sweet white miso; 2 tablespoons dried wakame, soaked in 1/2 cup cold water; 1 egg, lightly beaten (optional); 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

December 14, 2011

This brothy, colorful soup is a potent tonic that will cure what ails you. Miso paste, made from fermented soybeans, is an essential component of Japanese cuisine. As with yogurt and other fermented products, miso is most beneficial uncooked, so stir it into the soup only after turning off the heat. Wakame is a mild-tasting green sea vegetable most commonly used in the traditional miso soup that accompanies sushi. Burdock root (shown below) has a texture reminiscent of water chestnuts. It grows wild throughout the United States and can also be found in Japanese markets. After slicing burdock root, soak it in cold water to prevent it from turning brown. If burdock root isn’t available, simply use more of the other vegetables.

Recipe notes

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