Miso, a traditional Japanese cuison

Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called "dashi" into which softened miso paste is mixed. Many ingredients are added depending on regional and seasonal recipes, and personal preference.

Miso soup is one of the two basic soup types of Japanese cuisine – the other one is suimono .

It's a familiar and comforting sight, taste, and smell for anyone who has eaten at a typical neighborhood Japanese restaurant and been greeted warmly by shouts of "Irasshaimase!" roughly meaning "Come on in!" or "Welcome!" from the staff.

First things first: Just what is the cloudy stuff that settles toward the bottom of the bowl? Leave the soup untouched and one will see it seemingly separate, with a clear broth surrounding the "cloud." Stir it up again and it's whole, just as it was before. Mysterious? Indeed.

That "stuff" is the miso paste. Unlike salt or sugar, it never really dissolves in the dashi broth to form a solution. So, if left alone long enough, the particles of miso fall to the bottom and separate.

OK, mystery solved. Now, second question: How can one make it at home? Well, it's quite easy actually. It's one of those dishes for which it's almost unnecessary to have a recipe. The most challenging part probably isn't making the soup, but rather finding the ingredients. A trip to an Asian supermarket or Japanese grocery store would be ideal, but sometimes the neighborhood store will carry miso paste, often in the refrigerated section next to the salad dressings. Chicken stock, although not ideal, may be used as a substitute for dashi broth in a pinch.

For the most traditional flavor, though, it's best to look for dashi packets or boxes of hondashi powder, which often come in MSG-free versions. These ready-made versions are easy to make and require only several minutes of simmering in hot water to create a dashi broth. They can often be found in the same aisle as the packages of dried udon and soba noodles, but if they're hard to find, just ask around

I prefer using the dashi packs, but sometimes I use instant dashi too. It’s just whatever works!

Three steps to making delicious, authentic miso soup:

1. Bring your dashi up to a simmer. Put your water in the pot and bring it up to a gentle simmer over medium high heat with the dashi pack or instant dashi.

2. Remove the pot from the heat. Get a bowl and ladle out a small amount of dashi into it and and stir the miso into the hot dashi, making a miso slurry. When it’s smooth, add the miso slurry back into the pot.

3. Add seaweed, tofu, and green onions and gently heat over very low heat being sure not to bring it up to a simmer or boil – you don’t want the miso to be too hot because you’ll kill all of the amazing probiotics.

All in all, authentic miso soup is really easy! It’s practically instant, so tasty, and super comforting. Most Japanese people can’t imagine eating a meal with rice without miso soup – it’s incredibly healthy and delicious.