Japanese Soybean Soup: Miso Hungry!

On your next trip to Japan, drink hot soup!

Before I became Japanized, I too enjoyed soup from home. Chicken soup, pea soup, tomato soup, and so many more. When you got sick you had chicken soup. Soup was always an appetizer and was an important part of food culture when growing up in Michigan State. Then I moved to Japan and now I enjoy Japanese soup.

In this post, I will introduce soybean soup.

Hot soup is great, isn’t it? Here in Japan they have this stuff called “miso soup,” and it is made from fermented soybeans, salt, and fungus! Think about that…? There are other additives used instead of fungus, too. The locals claim a myriad of health benefits and consider it the cornerstone of Japanese cuisine. Miso, like dashi, are the most important food components in Japanese cooking. Miso has over 15 essential vitamins and over 8 minerals.

As a raw paste you can add a small amount into hot water, stir, and then drink it. The locals here enjoy miso soup as a dip for pickled vegetables, meats and so much more. When and if you visit Japan, you will discover that there’s a lot of regionality to miso. Every prefecture has its own take on miso soup. The type in this picture is called Toriyasai miso and is made with chicken base and works very well with vegetables.

Often times, locals will drink miso soup either before eating a meal, or just after. And on a cold day, miso soup is the greatest! It soothes the stomach and stimulates the senses. Your nose opens up and you can feel the steam from the soup warm your face. Only in Japan can enjoy traditional miso soup made by hand. Avoid factory mass produced if you can, but if you can buy or try specialty miso soups, you will notice a major difference. In the olden days, Japanese mothers used to make miso by hand, and the lactic acid from their hands would mix in with the miso mix. This created the smoothest and best tasting miso!

I recommend on your next visit here to visit places in Saga, Prefecture and have a meal in a little local shop and have real miso!

This is Japan.

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@user_not_found Miso soup is my favorite, especially on cold days. Nice photos and informative content. Thank you for sharing this post with us.

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Que deliciosa se ve ese platillo @user_not_found ! A mi me gusta mucho la sopa! y mas en invierno para calentar el cuerpo jeje

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Happy New Year @Ant_Bad_Yogi

Thank you for stopping by. Yeah. I love me some hot miso! Enjoy your holidays.

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Hi @Avraham_Jurado

Thank you for your comments!

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Loving the wordplay @user_not_found , that made me laugh!

Miso is one of those things I’ve heard often and seen on menus in Asian restaurants but never had the courage to try. Mostly because I would be afraid that it wouldn’t be an authentic experience here in Europe.

When I visit Japan one day I will follow your advice!

Hi @MortenSI

So glad you chimed in. Love that you can experience miso in Europe. The regionality in Japanese miso varies from prefecture to prefecture, so some locals may claim their taste is authentic. In my opinion, it is all good ( McHammer 1994).

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Maybe I should try a few here in Europe so I have something to compare it too when I visit Japan @user_not_found .

If they vary based on region, I’ll have to try one where ever I go I suppose.