Miso Soup With Tofu and Wakame

I have been enjoying Miso Soup at Japanese restaurants for years, and finally decided to research and make it at home. A few notes that may be helpful to some - it was to me as I am just beginning to learn more about Asian cooking...wakame is a sea vegetable, or edible seaweed. You can substitute thinly sliced Chinese mushrooms for the wakame if you like. Dashi is a class of soup and cooking stocks considered fundamental to Japanese cooking. The dashi was hard for me to find (I am in the deep south) you can substitute a clear broth if needed. Dashida beef flavored, clam flavored or anchovy flavored soup stock for making Korean soups, I have found is also a suitable substitute and easier for me to find where I am.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  dried  wakame seaweed
• 4  cups  dashi
• 1⁄4 cup red miso
• 1⁄4 lb silken tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2  scallions, thinly sliced into rounds

Directions

1. 1. Reconstitute the wakame be letting it sit in a small bowl of tap water for 15-20 minutes. Drain.
2. 2. Heat the dashi over medium heat, then add the miso. Stir until miso is dissolved. DO NOT BOIL THE MISO. It shouldn't be cooked, just heated.
3. 3. Add the tofu and wakame. Heat to a simmer and serve at once, garnished with the scallions.