Miso Soup - SUPER EASY & FAST

Miso soup is super easy to make and takes only minutes to prepare (roughly 15 minutes or less). 

First thing - you'll need to stock your shelves/fridge with a few items from an asian market. If you keep these items on hand, you'll be able to make soup in a jiffy. 

- dried seaweed (I use the long strips)

-dried shiitake mushrooms

-toasted sesame seeds

-miso paste (yellow is milder and red is more robust)

-dry noodles (I use flat wheat noodles that are about 1/4" wide)

-nori flakes (minced seaweed for garnish)

-chili oil (optional)

None of the stuff above is absolutely necessary except the miso. 

If you're just making yourself a big bowl, a sauce pan will do. Otherwise, use a soup pot. 

FIRST STEP: ADD WATER

In your saucepan or soup pot, pour in the amount of water you want as your stock. Be sure to measure the amount of water because this effects the amount of miso you'll add at the very end. You can add more water as you go, but just keep track of the total cups added. 

SECOND STEP: ADD DRY INGREDIENTS

Toss in dried (hydrated) shiitake mushrooms (I usually break them up into smaller bite size pieces), dried seaweed (I usually break these up because they plump WAY up in the water) and wide noodles (if you have thin noodles that don't take long to cook, then add these towards the end). 

THIRD STEP: Turn burner on to medium heat (If you like it spicier add a few shakes of chili oil and/or red chili flakes. I also like to add fresh ground pepper for extra flavor.)

FOURTH STEP: ADD FRESH VEGGIES

I typically clean and chop (bite size pieces) my veggies while the dry stuff starts to get hot. (If you're slow at cutting veggies, you might want to start this stage first and then continue while the dry stuff cooks.) You can add a variety of veggies or none at all. Here are some of my favorite things to add: baby bok choy or nappa cabbage, red bell pepper, hot peppers, button mushrooms, scallions, tofu (not really a vegetable, I know). Try adding other stuff like thinly sliced carrots or leeks. (You can also add broccoli, but I personally do not like overcooked broccoli, so I tend to leave them out of non-creamed soups.) TOSS CHOPPED VEGGIES IN POT AND COOK UNTIL VEGGIES ARE TENDER.  

FIFTH STEP: ADD MISO

Never add miso to boiling water. Instead, in a mixing bowl whisk a little warm water with the miso paste until it is dissolved. Read the instructions on the miso package in regards to the amount needed per cup. Typically it is around one tablespoon per cup. Depending on how strong your miso is, you may want to add more or less. Remember you can always add more, so if you're unsure, start conservatively (you don't want a salty mess) and taste the broth as you add until you get the desired flavor that you want. REMOVE SOUP FROM BURNER, POUR IN DISSOLVED MISO AND STIR. 

SIXTH STEP: SERVE

I like to garnish mine with fresh bean sprouts, nori flakes and toasted sesame seeds. For those who like a lot of spice, offer red chili paste or sriracha sauce to add as a topper. EAT

Butter Bean Miso Hummus

I've been creating a lot of complicated dishes lately and haven't had the time to record them in my blog. I tend to record the easy stuff and unfortunately some of the best stuff I've been making hasn't made it to my blog. 

I recently had a big party at my house and cooked up a variety of vegan goodies. The non-vegans at the party went nuts for several of my recipes, which I find very rewarding. When you can open people's minds to the idea of veganism it can be very powerful. It's amazing how good tasting food can make more of an impact than a discussion about cholesterol, cancer and animal rights. The way to many people's hearts are definitely their stomachs! 

For my party I made three types of hummus. One was sun dried tomato and fresh basil, the second was a spicy black bean and for a third one I wanted something really different. I wanted to create something savory yet different than typical hummus. 

I pulled out various items from my pantry and fridge and just started adding things into my food processor. I sampled as I went until I got the right flavor. It wasn't fabulous at first, but like your typical hummus - it tasted WAY better once it chilled in the fridge for a while. It actually got even better the next day. I really have no idea of the amounts I used for most of the ingredients, so I'll just do my best to record what I used. I had so many compliments on this dip that I don't want to forget what I did. Okay.....

In a food processor add the following: 

-2 cans drained butter beans

- 1 heaping tablespoon of yellow miso (miso is very salty - so you might want to add a little at a time because the canned butter beans may already be a little salty)

- 3 green onions (cut into thirds before tossing in)

- a tablespoon (maybe more) of tahini (I used the regular not the roasted, but they should both taste fine, I think.)

- coarse ground pepper to taste

- red pepper flakes to taste

- nori flakes (this is seaweed and it will add to the salty flavor so be sure to keep your salt balance in check) to taste

- roasted sesames to taste 

- a tablespoon (maybe less) of sugar (this just helps balance out the flavor but don't go crazy with  the sugar - I just tossed a few sprinkles in here and there as I tried to get the taste just right)

- wasabi powder to taste

- extra virgin olive oil - to get the whole thing mixing (add as needed to blend) 

- I don't remember adding two of the key ingredients of typical hummus - garlic and lemon juice. I suppose you could add these two ingredients (or just one) but I don't think they're necessary. 

The final consistency will resemble mash potatoes, if it is too stiff to dip a chip then add more olive oil and continue to blend. 

When trying to get the balance right, be sure to sample the dip with the exact type of dipping device your guest will use. If you're serving salty chips, make sure your dip isn't too salty. If you're serving french bread then make sure the hummus has a full flavor that will incorporate with the bread as a flavor sensation.