Smoked Mackerel Miso Soup
This miso soup with smoked mackerel is inspired by a game-changing soup I once ate at a chef ’s residency in London. David Chang (founder of the New York restaurant group Momofuku) was cooking at the St John Hotel for a week and his menu included a miso soup made from a broth infused with smoked eel bones.
I like to make miso soup with either smoked eel or smoked mackerel and it has become something of a store-cupboard supper.
Serves 4.
Dashi is a simple stock and key constituent of miso soup made using dried bonito flakes and kelp, sometimes with the addition of mushrooms. The good news is that most people in Japan do not make it themselves – sachets of instant dashi are as common in Japan as stock cubes are here in the UK (and much better). I like to buy mine through souschef.co.uk. Waitrose also sells ready-to-use liquid dashi in plastic pouches.
This recipe originally appeared in the October edition of House & Garden magazine. Photograph courtesy of Nassima Rothaker.
Ingredients
- 2-4 sachets instant dashi (according to your preference) dissolved in 1 litre water
- 4tbsp miso paste
- 1 fillet smoked mackerel or smoked eel, cut into small pieces
- 150g tofu, cut into small cubes
- 2 large pinches dried wakame seaweed (optional), soaked in cold water as per packet instructions and drained
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
Instructions
- Bring the dashi to a simmer.
- Put the miso in a small bowl and thin it using 1tbsp of the broth to help it disperse more easily. Then stir this mixture into the remaining dashi.
- To serve, put the smoked mackerel or smoked eel in the bottom of the bowls with the tofu and wakame, and pour over the broth.
- Top with the sliced spring onions.
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