December 1, 2008

For those of us who can't eat anymore turkey...

I don't know about ya'll, but I can't fit another bite of turkey, ham or potatoes into my mouth. We've eaten nothing but leftovers for days, and I find myself having cravings for something simple and healthy, like a salad -- I'm craving salad, something must really be wrong with me!! Thank goodness there is a month between Christmas and Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with my mom and Magga doing all the cooking for both my side and my husband's side of the family. No small feat - especially since all 12 of us (and 3 dogs) stayed under one roof!

Now that we are back home (we were in GA for all the festivities), and want nothing to do with anything heavy and rich, we will be eating lots of this soup. It's my husband's grandma's recipe for miso soup and it is soooo good! It's very satisfying and comforting, but is still light and healthy, which is exactly what we need for our turkey day detox.

We are lucky enough to live right around the corner from a Japanese grocery store (Katagiri), so we were able to find the exact ingredients that hubby's grandma recommended. Although we have no clue what they say since all the writing is in Japanese, she showed us the boxes and we just went and got the same one. So that is what I will do for you too... Miso is on the left and Dashi on the right.

Usually when we make this soup it's very flexible with no real specifications on how much to add of what. We tried to give exact estimates of what you should add, but know that you really can eyeball when making this and don't bother getting out the measuring tools. Add as much tofu, mushrooms and green onion as you prefer.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and stayed far, far away from any malls! :)


Miso Soup
Courtesy of Bachan

2/3 cup White Miso (Amano Shiro Miso, Organic - recommended)
Water
6-8 Shitake Mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 packet of Dashi 
6-8 ounces of Firm Tofu, cut into small cubes
White Rice**
Green Onions, thinly sliced
  • Place miso into a medium sized pot.
  • Add just enough water to cover miso.
  • Cook over medium heat, and stir until paste is dissolved and there are no clumps.
  • Add sliced shitakes.
  • Cover, stirring occasionally, and bring to a boil.
  • After water boils, stir in dashi and tofu until well combined.
  • Cook for a few minutes then remove from heat.
  • When serving, place desired amount of white rice in in bowl, fill with soup and garnish with green onions.
** When cooking white rice, a great tip is to rinse the rice before cooking to remove some of the starch. Just fill a bowl with the uncooked rice, add water and swirl around with your hand. Drain the water and repeat until water no longer appears milky white. Your rice will then cook up beautifully.

13 comments:

Aimée said...

I'm so glad you had a great Thanksgiving! You can ship some of that ham and turkey up my way if you like. We can trade for jam.

Maria said...

Love your miso soup!! I don't eat turkey so I am always up for something else..ha!

Culinary Wannabe said...

Aimée - So tempting!! I wonder if the border people would have something to say about that...

Maria - That's so funny! Good thing you eat pumpkin! :)

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I love tofu in soup. This looks delicious.

Emily said...

Mmm the soup looks wonderful. I really like tofu. I'm glad you do too.

amycaseycooks said...

This soup is just what I need after too much Thanksgiving consumption.

Culinary Wannabe said...

Hi Lisa - Thanks!!

Hi Emily - You know what's funny? I hate tofu! The only ways I will eat it is if it's fried to a crisp (the southerner in me) or in this soup. Glad you like it though, as I hear it's awesome for you.

Hi Eat! - I hear ya, I think we could all use a little detox of sorts. If it weren't for all the darn Christmas cookies everywhere!

Peabody said...

Ah I love miso soup. I had a Japanese exchange student as a roommate one semester in college and she got me hooked on eating it for breakfast.

Culinary Wannabe said...

Hi Peabody - My husband will eat it for breakfast too. But he will also eat mini-raviolis before the sun comes up, so I guess he's not too discriminating!

grace said...

surprisingly, i'm not tired of turkey yet--i still have a few hunks left in the fridge. your soup will be a nice change of pace when i do get sick of poultry. :)

Sara said...

I love miso soup - the last time I made it I added all different kinds of vegetables and noodles for a main course.

Culinary Wannabe said...

Hi Grace - After seeing so many delicious looking turkey recipes and posts out there I can see why you are still lovin' the bird!

Hi Sara - I'll have to try added some more goodies!

Anonymous said...

Your miso soup does look fabulous! I love miso soup and I did make it a week ago using the packets of miso soup (just add boiling water) I bought at our local Asian grocery. Yum!