Cook’s notes
One of the most enjoyable things I experienced in Osaka was shopping at the grocery of Takashimaya. Among the items I bought was a pack of dried seaweed and shiitake. Half of it, my daughter used for her ramen; the other half, I cooked into this shrimp miso soup.
Above, half of the contents of the pack. It’s just a handful but, with that, I was able to make a pot of chunky miso soup that was enough to serve six people.
Dried seaweed and shiitake might not sound too exciting, I know. Individually, they are not hard to find in local groceries. But it’s the combination that excited me. And the convenience. It’s not just shiitake and wakame in the pack but carrot and turnip too. Everything to get an authentic Japanese flavor in a pot of soup.
Now, about the shrimps. The amount indicated in the ingredients list is the amount I had when I cooked this soup. You can use smaller or larger shrimps, and the weight need not be between 500 and 600 grams. It’s up to you if you want to be generous or stingy. But you do have to shell and devein them before cooking.
Above, half of the contents of the pack. It’s just a handful but, with that, I was able to make a pot of chunky miso soup that was enough to serve six people.
Dried seaweed and shiitake might not sound too exciting, I know. Individually, they are not hard to find in local groceries. But it’s the combination that excited me. And the convenience. It’s not just shiitake and wakame in the pack but carrot and turnip too. Everything to get an authentic Japanese flavor in a pot of soup.
Now, about the shrimps. The amount indicated in the ingredients list is the amount I had when I cooked this soup. You can use smaller or larger shrimps, and the weight need not be between 500 and 600 grams. It’s up to you if you want to be generous or stingy. But you do have to shell and devein them before cooking.Shrimp miso soup
Ingredients
- 12 to 18 shrimps (500 to 600 grams / 1.1 to 1.3 pounds before cleaning and trimming) shelled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons miso paste I used brown
- 1 handful mixed dried mushroom seaweed and vegetables
- 3 tablespoons dashi granules
Instructions
- Place the shrimps in a shallow bowl and drizzle the fish sauce over them. Toss lightly.
- Heat about six cups water in a pot and bring to the boil.
- Using a ladle, take about half a cup of hot water from the pot and pour into a bowl. Stir in the miso paste until smooth.
- Dump the mixture of dried mushrooms, seaweed and vegetables into the pot. Cover and simmer for five minutes.
- Turn up the heat to high. Add the shrimps to the vegetables and cook until they change color, about two minutes.
- Drizzle the dashi granules into the pot. Stir.
- Turn off the heat. Pour in the diluted miso paste. Stir.
Chicken binakol