Enough about breakfast, porridge and whole grains, for now. Fermented foods are another important ingredient in a wholesome diet to help maintain healthy digestion. Among fermented foods, miso soup is a fantastic source of probiotics.
Miso is a fermented soy bean paste, prepared by japanese and chinese cultures for over 1,300 years. Typically the soy bean is fermented with grains, such as brown rice (genmai miso) or barley (mugi miso). Miso is an excellent source of beneficial probiotic bacterial cultures, and can be used as a soup base or flavour enhancer in a variety of dishes and sauces.
It is important to note that miso is a temperature sensitive ingredient; boiling miso can harm the probiotic bacteria cultures and it is therefore recommended that you add the miso directly prior to serving, avoiding temperatures above 115°F.
This is the most basic miso soup recipe, feel free to add vegetables, noodles, and other ingredients as you please!
Basic Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups filtered water
- 1/2-1 tsp dried wakame
- 3 tsp miso paste
Instructions
- Soak wakame, until soft and expanded.
- Bring water to boil.
- Once wakame is soft; cut into small pieces.
- Add wakame to cooking water, simmer a few minutes.
- Reserve some cooking water to dissolve miso, stir miso and water until well blended.
- Remove soup from heat; wait 30-60 seconds; add miso and stir.
Optional Additions :
- carrots, celery, onion, daikon radish, burdock, kale, cabbage – add one or add all. Other vegetable options may also suite your palate.
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