Give us this day our daily miso.
I’ve not yet visited Japan, but it’s on the list, and at the top. NYC has incredible first-generation Japanese restaurants, but this gives me no authority to speak in depth on Miso Soup. I do know it’s part of their traditional breakfast, in addition to grilled fish, rice, fermented soybeans and pickles, and it’s become a ritual for me. I turn the slow cooker on in the morning, set it on low and break my fast 4 hours later with a big, warm bowl of deliciousness. It’s a great way to sneak in nutrient-dense foods before the bad food decisions of the day get their chance. The miso, seaweed and tofu together cover the protein and so many vitamins and minerals. Anything else added in is a bonus.
Miso is a fermented food with the live, active cultures of bacteria and probiotics for gut health, and lots of epidemiological studies have shown it to have promising preventive and maintenance health effects.
And I just learned I’ve been ruining the miso.
These bacteria are killed at around 115° F.
The low setting on a slow cooker is 200° F and too hot.
Below is a video below of me doing it all wrong, by adding the miso during instead of after. (I thought the heat was low enough, but you should always wait until the soup has cooled, then stir in the miso.)
Come to think of it, the cilantro should be added at the end as well to preserve its brightness.
Sweet how learning is so often the result of writing.
Here’s what went in the soup that morning:
Water
Miso
Tamari
Nanami Togarashi Chili Pepper
Wakame
Ginger
Scallion
Cilantro
Silken Tofu
Bok Choy
Lemon squeeze
“I’m not afraid to look like a big, hairy, smelly, foreign devil in Tokyo, though I do my best not to, I really do.”
