Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Is there low-sodium dashi for miso soup? Or can you reduce the dashi and add some seaweed?

I made miso soup for the first time yesterday (dashi, miso paste, water, tofu, scallions) and I think it turned out really good. But the sodium content seems to be really high. The recipe called for 2 tsp. dashi granules for 4 cups of water (plus 3 Tbsp. miso paste). I am not very familiar with the types of dashi available in Asian markets (and actually had to ask the clerks to find this one) but do they make lower-sodium dashi? If not, would reducing the dashi to 1 tsp/4 cups of water and maybe adding some seaweed to the stock to keep the intensity of flavor? What kind of seaweed would I add to the miso soup (I could take it out before serving or leave it in - whichever is appropriate) - kombu?Is there low-sodium dashi for miso soup? Or can you reduce the dashi and add some seaweed?
Miso soup is a home-cooking in Japan, so there are so many different varieties and none of which are the "correct" ones. It is basically what your mother taught you or what you experimented by yourself and perfected in your sense.

Commercial dashi is artificial, yes. Dashi is basically just a Japanese stock. Being a stock, there are many ways to make it. As you said, using small amount of "dashi" as a base and extract more flavors from konbu is a legitimate way.

Konbu is definitely one of the most commonly used dashi. For miso soup, you can also use katsuo dashi or niboshi dashi, respectively they are made from bonito flakes and dried small sardine. I reckon niboshi (dried sardine) gives more powerful dashi. It is probably the one most commonly used for miso soup. Konbu and katsuo are also common, I suppose. You can make them from the scratch. They are far less elaborate than stocks used in French cooking. Of course, making a "perfect" dashi requires some experience and appropriate ingredients, but well...even without them, it can be easily done at home. Although the preparation of dashi is not elaborate, what's important is to know when to STOP cooking as is always the case with cooking.

Find your own recipe!

P.S. Wakame (seaweed) should not be overcooked. It should be somewhat like al dente. If you use it, put it toward the end of your cooking.Is there low-sodium dashi for miso soup? Or can you reduce the dashi and add some seaweed?
This may help

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