Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small strip kombu seaweed (about 4 inches)
- ¼ cup tightly packed dried maitake mushrooms or 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 4 cups filtered water
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp. wakame flakes, or 1 x 5-inch piece wakame (pre-soaked), cut into small pieces
- 4 or 5 heaped tsp. miso paste, (approx.1 tsp. miso per bowl of soup)
- 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger juice
- Splash or two of tamari
- Diced spring onion or chives and alfalfa sprouts, for garnish
Instructions
Soak the kombu and shiitake or maitake mushrooms in two cups of water for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and cut into small pieces. If using shiitake mushrooms, cut off the stems and discard and thinly slice the caps.
Put the mushrooms and the soaking water in a pot and add another 4 cups of filtered water. Bring to a boil and then cook on low simmer for 10 minutes. Add the spring onions and wakame flakes and cook 5 minutes. Place the miso paste into a small mesh strainer and lower into the broth, using a spoon stir until the paste is dissolved and then scrape in the residue (grain) into the soup pot. Add the ginger juice to aid in digestion and facilitate the cells' uptakes of sugars.
Tip: do not boil the miso – it has so many living microorganisms which is a wonderful digestive tonic. You can make a larger batch, store in glass container in the refrigerator and take required amount each morning and gently warm.
Note
Miso is a fermented soybean paste used to flavour various dishes, but most widely used as a stock to season soups. Miso’s natural fermentation process creates a combination of enzymes that strengthen and nourish the intestinal tract. As a result, the blood that nourishes the balance of the body is much stronger. The quality of our blood creates the people we are, and the health we possess. This basic miso soup should be a daily staple of your diet. It encompasses the use of sea vegetables to mineralize the blood and a variety of fresh vegetables. The balance of these ingredients creates a strengthening energy vital to life. Miso has been used for centuries in the Orient as a remedy for cancer, weak digestion, low libido several types of intestinal infections, lowering cholesterol, and so much more and is one of the world’s most medicinal foods.