"miso soup" news and stories

"In Japan, miso soup and ramen soup are two very wonderful but very different soups that would never be combined into one bowl, but I don't let that stop me here in the States," says KitchenDaily contributor Kemp Minifie, who cooked up this delectable combo. "When I discovered the little packages of ramen soup noodles in my local supermarket, lunchtime became so much easier. Because I have no intention of using the MSG-laden flavor packets, I simply toss them out and use miso instead." Kemp adds fresh carrots and broccoli to this simple soup, and, she says, "miso delivers a wallop of savory deliciousness."

Recipe for Quick Miso Ramen Soup with Broccoli and Carrot

I love savory hot foods and miso soup is the perfect rainy day dish to fill the tummy and help you shake off the chill. Even if you aren't in the mood for visiting your local sushi bar, you can still make miso at home.

Miso soup is one of those mysterious dishes that might look hard to prepare, but in fact is the easiest thing in the world -- and it just happens to be low in fat and calories. You can find the paste in your local health-food store and as long as you store it in an airtight zipper-lock bag, it will store well for months in the meat drawer of your fridge.

The only downside to miso is the sodium content. Health professionals say to stay under 2,300 milligrams of salt a day, that's 1 teaspoon. In most packaged miso pastes, one tablespoon can contain up to 750 milligrams alone. So, look for the reduced-sodium or light version that still has the rich flavor with a lot less salt. Get my recipe for spicy miso soup after the jump.

What's a better meal on those cold winter days than soup? Of course, with temps around 45 to 50 in Boston today, I can't really say "cold winter days" (to me there aren't many things more depressing than a warm day in January), but soup is always good, right?

The Boston Globe has two soup recipes in their Sunday magazine. One is for Winter Vegetable Soup, which includes whole tomatoes crushed in a bowl and Parmesan cheese; and a recipe for Miso Soup from famed local chef Gordon Hammersley, which seems to go crazy on the mushrooms. Does the recipe really call for 4 portobello mushrooms, 10 large mushrooms, and 2 ounces of dried shiitake mushrooms, and then also adds on a 1/2 pound of mixed mushrooms (shiitake, crimani, portobello, or oyster)?