It’s a cold day here in Connecticut so miso soup sounded like a wonderful way to warm up the day. Not only is miso soup a warm treat on a cold day but it also has numerous health benefits. Simply google health benefits of miso soup and you’ll find loads of web pages that prove this point. My mom makes me and my sisters miso soup from scratch whenever we get sick, but even cancer patients trying to put their cancerous cells into remission drink it. Miso is a healing and preventative food that will help you stay healthy or become healthier. So without further ado, here is my recipe for this calming soup that you’ll find tasty and that your body will thank you for later.

Serves 2

What you’ll need:

4 cups of water

2 tablespoons of barley miso

12 dried shiitake mushroom slices

1 pinch of instant Japanese wakame flakes

Extra firm tofu

Note: You can use dried tofu if fresh tofu isn’t possible.

First, place four cups of water in a pot on the stove set to medium high heat. You will need this water to boil. So in the meantime while you wait, you can do all your prep work for the other soup’s ingredients.

You can start with your mushrooms. Place your shiitake mushroom slices in a bowl filled with lukewarm water. The mushrooms will need ten minutes in the warm water before they are prepared to go into the soup. Note: You can save this mushroom broth to use to flavor other soups or dishes.

Next you should prepare your tofu. Take about a quarter of a package of extra firm tofu and cut into small bite size squares.

At this point, your water should be boiling and your mushrooms should have soaked for the appropriate amount of time. Turn your water down to low heat. If the heat is too high, you will kill all of the living micro-organisms in the miso that have beneficial healing health proprieties.

Now, using a one cup measuring cup take some of the boiling water and add one tablespoon of barley miso. Mix this well until in the barley miso is completely mixed into the water. Then add this back into the pot with the remaining water. Once again, take some more of the boiling water in the one cup measuring cup and mix in another tablespoon of barley miso until well combined with the water. Then add that back to the pot.

At this point, you can add in your pinch of instant Japanese wakame flakes and soaked shiitake mushroom slices. Mix well until the wakame flakes are no longer black dried up pieces but instead long translucent green strips. Finally add your tofu. Stir for another minute or two allowing the tofu to warm and then serve!

Nutrition facts were calculated using SparksRecipes calculator after inputting my recipe for miso soup. These facts can be seen below: