Miso addict

If anyone could make Western brains grasp the notion to make Japanese cuisine in our home kitchens, you know it has to be Alton Brown. In one of this season's newer offerings, "Turning Japanese," he did just that. At least, for me.

It started with a trip to a local Asian market to get all of the supplies. Yes, here in my rural neck of the woods, I was able to procure everything to being the process of making a few of the items from the episode. Color me excited!

The dashi was extremely easy to make following Alton's directions:

Ingredients

* 2 (4-inch) square pieces kombu

* 2 1/2 quarts water

* 1/2-ounce bonito flakes or katsuobushi, about 2 cups


Directions

Put the kombu in a 4-quart saucepan, cover with the water and soak for 30 minutes.


Set the saucepan over medium heat until the water reaches 150 to 160 degrees F and small bubbles appear around the sides of the pan, 9 to 10 minutes.


Remove the kombu from the pan. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, 5 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the bonito flakes. Simmer gently, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.


Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer lined with muslin or several layers of cheesecloth. Reserve the bonito flakes for another use.


Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Use within 1 week or freeze for up to a month.

Once creating the dashi, the next step was to await for it to cool to 100 degrees to add the miso paste.

Ingredients


* 12-ounce block firm silken tofu

* 2 quarts dashi

* 6 tablespoons dark or red miso

* 2 tablespoons light or white miso

* 4 scallions, thinly sliced


Directions


Wrap the block of tofu in 2 layers of paper towels and lay on a plate. Invert a second plate on top of the tofu and weigh down with a 28-ounce can. Leave for 20 minutes then cut the tofu into 1/4 to 1/2-inch cubes.


Heat the dashi in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When the dashi reaches 100 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, ladle 1 cup into a small bowl. Add the miso, and whisk until smooth.


Bring the remaining dashi to a bare simmer, approximately 10 minutes. Add the miso mixture and whisk to combine. Return to a slight simmer, being careful not to boil the mixture. Add the tofu and scallions and cook for another minute or until heated through. Remove from the heat, ladle into soup bowls and serve immediately.

If you have ever had the instant Miso soup, let me tell you this version kicks its butt up and down the street all day and then squashes it into the ground. Yeah, it is THAT good. And my favorite is how simple it is to make. I completely addicted to miso soup

One thing still surprising is the level of smoky favor in the soup. However, now that I know how to make miso soup it makes sense to have a smoky punch, almost bacony, from the smoked fish flakes.