Few things warm you up on a cold day as much as a hot bowl of soup. At the end of a long days hike in foul weather, a quick-to-make steaming cup of miso is just the things to warm you up.
There are instant miso soups available at Asian food stores (T&T carries quite a selection) but they can be expensive, and their typical serving sizes are small, at least for me, who can happily eat two bowls in one sitting. So, I decided to figure out how to make this soup trail-friendly!
Ingredients:
Dashi Stock Mix (similar to OXO, but for Asian cooking)
White Miso
Dehydrated Tofu
Dried Wakame (optional)
Other Additions (I like to add Udon to mine, you can also add green onion, rice noodles, smoked tofu, etc)
At Home:
1. Measure out dashi mix (most of them have proper proportions on the box, such as the one I use, which uses 1 1/3 tsp of dashi mix to 2 ¼ cups of water) into a small bag, and write how much water you’re going to need (I usually double up, so this helps me to remember the proportions).
2. Transfer miso paste to a bag or plastic screw-top container. I use a heaping tablespoon of miso paste per cup of soup, so plan accordingly. Take enough miso for all of the servings of soup you plan on making and then just distribute appropriately in camp, rather than measuring it all into individual servings.
3. Dehydrate tofu, or package up some that you already have. I like a lot of tofu in mine, but plan according to your own tastes. If you’re using smoked tofu, there is no need to dehydrate, just keep it in it’s original packaging. Prepare any additional mix-ins for your soup.
In Camp:
1. Measure water into your pot, according to how much soup you are making (refer back to the proportions you wrote on your dashi mix packet(s) and bring to a boil. As it’s starting to bubble, add the dashi mix, tofu, udon, etc. Everything EXCEPT the miso paste.
2. Speaking of miso paste, spoon a lump into the bottom of each bowl (about a heaping tablespoon per cup of liquid).
3. Once the soup has boiled, remove from stove and pour hot liquid over miso paste in the bowls. Stir until the miso paste has completely melted into the liquid.
4. Enjoy! Wasn’t that easy?
