Cook’s notes
About milkfish
Milkfish (bangus) is a bony fish prized for its fatty belly. If unavailable, substitute some other fish. I’d still recommend the belly but, if you’re not into that, just use cubed fillet.What are moringa leaves?
If you’re wondering what moringa leaves are, they come from a tree called Moringa oleifera which is also known as drumstick tree. We call it malunggay in the Philippines. The tree is easy to grow as it requires very little tending. For those not interested in gardening, moringa leaves can we bought very cheaply. How are moringa leaves used in cooking? Just strip the leaves off and add to the pot. Tender ones can be eaten raw (think salad!) while the more mature ones will require some cooking.Why moringa and not some other leafy vegetable?
Of course you may use your preferred leafy vegetable. Miso soup is so flexible that you may add just about any meat, seafood and vegetable to it. But, at the time we had this soup, we had a moringa tree growing in the garden. It was just so convenient to snip off a few branches to get enough leaves for a pot of soup.Milkfish (bangus) belly and moringa (malunggay) miso soup
Ingredients
- 2 milkfish (bangus) belly fillets cut into one-inch squares (about 2 cups after cutting)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or to taste
- 1 300-gram cake silken tofu cut into ½-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons dashi granules
- 2 tablespoons miso paste white is preferred
- moringa malunggay leaves, as much or as little as you like
Instructions
- In a pot, boil six cups of water and stir in the dashi.
- Ladle about half a cup of hot dashi into a bowl and stir in the miso paste until free from lumps.
- Drop the fish squares into the pot, stir and allow the water to come to the boil. Lower the heat at once, cover the pot and let the fish simmer for five minutes. That’s all the time they need to cook. Seriously.
- Turn up the heat and add the tofu cubes to the pot. When the liquid simmers, count 30 seconds, add the malunggay leaves, pressing them lightly into the liquid. Cook for a minute then turn off the heat.
- Stir the miso paste into the broth. Taste and add fish sauce, if needed.
- Serve the soup hot.
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