Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu (Vegan)

My Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu is my go-to side for almost any of my favourite Chinese and Japanese inspired dishes. Its light but filling, tasty but subtle and includes a little extra hit of tofu based protein. Best of all, its ready in less than 10 minutes.

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Whether I’m making Sushi, Steamed Chinese Dumplings or one of my Korean Pork dishes, I love to serve miso soup on the side. This version is spiked with ginger and has the added benefit of little chunks of tofu.

How to Serve Miso Soup

The serving size given in my recipe makes a small side bowl. I like to use my small melamine bowls, soup spoons and wooden chopsticks to serve. I have no issue in picking up the bowl and slurping it down.

The recipe can easily be increased by two or three times to make a main portion serving of soup. Keep scrolling for some of my suggestions for additions to make a meal soup.

Equally just a small bowl can make for a great satisfying snack.

Ingredients for Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu

Miso

There are several varieties of miso available. The three most common types in order from lightest to darkest are white (shiro), yellow (shinshu) and red (aka). Light to dark refers both the colour and flavour of the miso.

I generally keep a pot of white and a pot of red miso in my fridge. But it is almost always the white miso that I use for Miso soup as it is subtle for a side dish. I might well reach for the deeper red miso if I’m making miso soup as a main meal. The best thing is to experiment and decide which type you prefer.

You can buy pots of miso paste in the supermarkets. Check the world food aisles or speciality ingredient sections. I now tend to buy big pots from an Asian supermarket and keep them in the fridge to dip into. It keeps brilliantly for a long time.

Mirin

Mirin is a sweet rice wine. It has very low alcohol content and provides a sweet note to the soup. Mirin is a staple of Japanese cooking and I always keep a bottle in the cupboard. It is available in small bottles from supermarkets or bigger, much better value bottles from Asian grocers.

Mirin can be substituted with a little sherry or simple sugar.

Ginger Paste

Ginger, just like garlic is a substance that I can rarely be bothered to deal with fresh. Actually its rather difficult to get truly fresh. I also find that I tend to end up with nubs of ginger root going off in the bottom of my fridge.

And so my preference is to keep a jar of minced ginger in the fridge. Its easy and less wasteful. And available in all the supermarkets. I highly recommend investing in a jar (I say investing, they’re about a pound and last for ages).

Tofu

You can buy various types of tofu. The most common are silken, soft, firm and extra firm. Firm or ideally, extra firm is what you are looking for here.

You might find it in the supermarket chiller or in tetrapaks in the world food aisle. Fresh is generally preferable if possible but I do often keep a long life option in the pantry.

The biggest thing to remember with tofu is that as much moisture as possible needs to be removed before cooking. This can be achieved by using a mixture of kitchen roll and pressure.

Be Flexible

Miso soup is merely a base for your imagination. You can add all manner of other ingredients. This is especially true if you want to use the miso broth as a base for a larger meal soup. Noodles, vegetables, other proteins like chicken, pork and/or boiled eggs would be my go-to options.

My Korean Pork Ramen can be made with a miso base instead of a doenjang base.

Rather than adding, ingredients can also be taken away to make a simpler soup. Sometimes I make a side miso soup with only the miso paste and hot water. Nothing more is technically required.

Make it Vegetarian or Vegan

My Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu contains no animal products and is therefore already suitable for both veggies and vegans.

Make it Allergy Friendly

This miso soup is free from nuts, dairy and egg.

Gluten Free: This recipe should also be gluten free providing that you buy your miso paste with care. Miso should not contain gluten but is often ‘cut’ with wheat to bulk and cheapen it. Just check the ingredients carefully, there shouldn’t really be many.

Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.

Equipment Notes for Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu

If you are the kind of person that doesn’t own a kettle, I suggest that you have a word with yourself. Whilst your shiny new kettle is on order, you can heat the soup purely in your small saucepan. It will take longer. Buy a kettle.

A comprehensive list of the equipment used to make this recipe is included in the main recipe card below. Click on any item to see an example. There are no hard and fast rules so many items can be sensibly substituted to achieve the same results.

Get Ahead

The soup can be made and reheated but making it from scratch will take as long as it does to reheat so I don’t really see any great benefit.

Saying that, there isn’t technically any reason that you can’t make a batch and then keep it in the fridge for a few days or even freeze it. Even tofu freezes surprisingly well.

Leftover Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu

Any leftovers can be reheated and eaten within the next few days. But because I tend to only make it in small portions and for the number of people who are eating, I very rarely find myself with substantial leftovers.

Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu Tips

Miso soup is cloudy. Small particles will settle and the soup will look clearer. Stir it and it will be cloudy again. The cloud is the flavour so do give the soup a quick stir before tucking in each time.

Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?

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The Recipe

Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu Recipe

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My Miso Soup with Ginger & Tofu is my go-to side for almost any of my favourite Chinese and Japanese inspired dishes. Its light but filling, tasty but subtle and includes a little extra hit of tofu-based protein. Best of all, its ready in less than 10 minutes.

5 from 2 votes

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KEEP SCREEN ON

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time5 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Servings 2

Author Chloe

Equipment

• Electric Kettle
• Chopping Board – Small Plastic
• Sharp Knife – Small
• Measuring Spoons
• Saucepan – Small
• Measuring Jug – Small
• Mixing Bowl – Extra Small
• Silicone Spatula – Small
• Silicone Ladle

Ingredients

 

MetricUSA Measurements

 

0.5x1x2x4x

• 40 g Firm Tofu
• 2 tsp Mirin
• 1 tsp Ginger Paste
• 410 ml Water
• 2 tbsp Miso Paste
• 1 Spring Onions (Scallions)

Instructions

 

• Pop a kettle of water on to boil.
• Cut 40g Firm Tofu into cm cubes.
• Add 2 tsp Mirin and 1 tsp Ginger Paste to a medium saucepan.
  
• Add 350 ml Boiling Water from the kettle to the saucepan. Stir to incorporate the ginger and mirin.
• Add the tofu cubes to the saucepan and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile mix 2 tbsp Miso Paste into a thin paste with 60 ml (4 tbsp Boiling Water) in a small bowl.
  
• Peel and finely slice 1 Spring Onion.
• Once the tofu has simmered for 5 minutes, add the sliced spring onion and miso paste.
  
• Stir the paste into the soup. Once it has come back to a simmer. Turn the heat off.
  
• Serve the soup between 2 small bowls.
  

Nutrition (Approx)

Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 685mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 0.7mg

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