Easy miso soup with tofu, kimchi, and daikon
If you want to try out Asian ingredients like miso, tofu, kimchi, and gochujang, this kimchi miso soup can be a good option for you. Other ingredients like daikon and konnyaku are nice to have and you can substitute with different kinds or radish or root vegetables you can get hands on.
Glad miso, tofu and kimchi are going mainstream!
As I shared in the Goodness Basics post, I enjoy experimenting with ingredients from a variety of ethnic food (like Kamut).
At the core, I am partial to Japanese-Korean ingredients (soy sauce, sake, mirin, miso, tofu, daikon, kimchi, gochujang, ginger, green onion, dried shiitake, yuzu, etc.) and am delighted to see many of them are more broadly available and used by cooks across the spectrum.
There are a few Japanese ingredients relatively difficult to find outside of specialized Asian grocery stores, like a full-sized daikon (left) konnyaku (more below), natto, and abura-age (fried tofu skin). I will write about them in the future as I incorporate in various dishes.
Love Daikon!
When it comes to daikon, while I appreciate more grocery stores carry a version of it, most of them do not have the robust size and texture – juicy, sharp, and sweet taste at the same time, particularly depending on which part you use. Generally, the top part is sweeter vs. the bottom part is sharper. When it’s still relatively fresh, you can enjoy raw just grated with a little bit of yuzu shoyu (soy sauce) over it, or in a salad with scallion slices, red bell pepper slices, and crab or scallop pieces with light dressing and toasted sesame seeds.
Amazing konnyaku
Konnyaku’s taste, like those of other “exotic” Japanese foods like natto, is hard to properly convey if you have never taste it. This post from Serious Eats does an great job describing what it is and how to eat it. Growing up, my elders often describe it as “hara zarae” (i.e, gut cleansing) food, because it has a good fiber content and yet virtually 0 calorie.
What’s more important, it has a seriously robust, bouncy texture and is versatile in soups and stews because it soaks up and beautifully carries the taste of whatever you cook with. Whenever I visit Japanese (or Korean) groceries stores, I stock them up because they last for quite a while if unopened.
Let miso cradle your favorite ingredients
Miso soup is one of the most common staple dishes in Japan. You can make it rather plain, with just tofu or daikon and scallions, or throw in an incredible diverse array of seasonal ingredients, including fish, chicken, clams, various forms of tofu, vegetables, etc.
You can make a simple, more soupy version as a side dish, or a richly loaded, stewy version as a main dish. This recipe has a touch of Korea with kimchi, gochujang (red chili pepper paste), and garlic, along with daikon, dried shiitake mushrooms, konnyaku, red bell pepper, broccoli, and ginger.
You can skip any of the unfamiliar ingredients like konnyaku or gochujang. If sake or dried shiitake mushrooms are not easily accessible to you, then I recommend you use your favorite soup stock rather than water. I believe all the ingredients sans meat will make a flavorful and fulfilling food for vegetarians. To take the flavor to the next level, you can also add thinly sliced beef or chicken pieces.
Hope you can give it a try and create a flavorful miso soup of your own!
Easy tofu, daikon & kimchi miso stew
Equipment
- 1 large pan with a lid stainless steel or cast iron will work well.
- 1 medium pan if you are using beef slices.
- 1 shallow mesh sieve to remove scums from the soup.
Ingredients
- 14 oz firm or medium firm tofu about typical 1 package.
- 1 lb daikon radish about 1/3 of a large piece, or 2 cups cut.
- 1 bunch broccoli florets about 2 cups broken into pieces.
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes about 1/2 of typical package.
- 1 red bell pepper
- 7 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 inch ginger root
- 5 stalks green onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp sesame oil can subsitite with avocado or other neutral oil
- 8 oz konnyaku optional – about 1 typical package.
- 6 oz beef optional – any cut, thinly sliced.
- 6 tbsp miso
- 5 oz kimchi can add less or more, depending on your preference.
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sake
- 1 tbsp gochujang optional – can be 1 tsp of red pepper flakes.
- 1/4 tsp brown sugar add to the water to dehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms.
Instructions
Prepare ingredients
- Drain and pat dry tofu, and cut them in about 1" cubes.
- Add a lukewarm water and 1/4 teaspoon of suger to rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms. Leave for about 10 minutes, and once they are soft, slice them thin.
- Slice aromatics (ginger, garlic, scallions) in medium thin pieces.
- If the daikon is fresh and skin is clean and tnder, you can leave them on. Otherwise, thinly peel before cutting. Cut in about 1" random pieces so that it will soak up liquid well.
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise.
- Cut red bell peppers in about 1" random pieces.
- Wash, drain, and towell dry broccoli florets. Break them apart in about 1" pieces.
- (Optional) drain and cut konnyaku in about 1-1/2" triangle pieces. Blanch in boiling water for about 1 minute to remove a potential odor.
- (Optional) pat dry thin beef slices with paper towel.
Sauté aromatics
- On a pan heated well in medium high heat, swirl 1 tbsp of sesame oil, and wait for a minute until the oil is fused in the pan. Sauté scallions, garlic, and ginger for a few minutes until they turn golden brown. With a slotted spatula, transfer them onto a plate.
(Optional) sauté and remove scums from beef
- Separate and towl dry individual beef pieces.
- Heat a separate medium sized pan in high heat and splash 1/4-cup of sake.
- Immediately add beef and sauté briefly in the sake juice, until the surface turns color.
- Add enough water to cover the surface, and right before it starts boiling, remove the scums with a slotted spatula or a shallow, fine mesh sieve. Turn off the heat.
Sauté vegetables (and konnyaku)
- Reduce the heat to medium, and add daikon and sauté first for about 3 minutes, until the surface turns slightly brown. Add red bell peppers and tomatoes and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes.
- (If using) add blanched konnyaku and sauté for another minute.
Cook ingredients until they are medium soft
- Add back aromatics to the pan with vegetables.
- Add 1/4-cup of sake and shiitake mushrooms with liquid to the pan and mix well.
- Add enough water to cover about 1/2" above the top of ingredients. If you are using the cooked beef, add both the meat and liquid and adjust the water level.
- Right before the pan starts boiling and scums start gathering, remove them with a slotted spatula or a shallow mesh sieve.
- Turn the heat down to medium low and continue to cook until you can pierce daikon pieces with a fork, for about 15 minutes. In cooking, you can either put the lid cracked open over the pan, or place a parchment paper over the ingredients to ensure the liquid circulates well and ingredients don't dry out.
Add tofu, kimchi, broccoli, and miso soup base
- Once the daikon pieces are soft yet somewhat firm, add kimchi and cook for a few minutes.
- Add tofu and broccoli and mix all the ingredients well in a pan.
- Make a miso soup base – in a small bowl, add miso, soy sauce, gochujang or red pepper flakes, and 1/2 cup of soup lquid and mix well to make the miso soup base.
- Mix in about 1/2 of the miso soup base and stir well. Taste the soup and add more miso soup base as needed.
Enjoy the hearty soup!
Nutrition
About The Author
MayumiW
Related Posts
High Flavor-Low Carb Tofu Konjac Ramen with Avocado & Kimchi
Ramen noodles made from soybeans and konjac flour can make a guilt-free, satisfying, and…
November 12, 2022
Flavor and collagen packed oxtail chili with vegetables
Make for the taste & flavor and take in goodness of collagen For me, nothing…
March 9, 2022
Leave A Comment