Skip to main content

3 Minute Soup

This is my lifesaver soup! Doesn't need any boiling and doesn't need anything except some fresh kelp.

I believe that soup should nourish the soul and tummy but like all busy bees these days, I sometimes don't have time to simmer soup for 2 hours. I need to zip in and out and watching the stove can be tedious.

But never fear. If I can make this 3-minute soup, so can you.

It's called Miso. ;-)

My favourite instant soup. It is also great if you are feeling blue and not up for cooking but just want something to keep one's tummy warm.

You can buy miso paste in single-serve packs or you can buy one whole carton of it (around 400 gm). Miso paste is basically fermented soya bean paste ("tau cheong") which we Chinese use often in cooking. I buy my miso paste at Jusco supermarket, RM4.50 for 10 packets of single-serve miso.

Some miso paste have shreds of seaweed or kelp. Some come with bits of mussels. Of course since I don't read Japanese, I look at the graphic on the packaging.

You don't boil miso paste because that would get rid of its good bacteria (it's fermented bean paste, remember? There's live organisms in the paste which is soothing for the stomach and intestines.) In fact, there's a host of vitamins and minerals within miso.

Imagine, miso can help:
* detoxify radioactive substances
* help with anti-ageing
* aid digestion
* detoxification
* control blood pressure
* negate smoking effects and lots more.

Here's how miso is made.

Anyway, here's how you can make miso soup at home.

Bring water to boil. Portion out 1 bowl per person. When water has boiled, take it off the stove. Place 1 tablespoon of miso paste into bowl (1 tablespoon of miso for 1 person). Pour boiling water into the bowl. Mix thoroughly so that the miso paste is well mixed. Add cubed soft tofu and fresh kelp* if you like.

Serve hot. Great on its own or with rice. Oh ya, don't add salt as miso is naturally salty. Remember do not boil miso if you don't want to ruin its taste and destroy its nutrients.

* I was introduced to fresh kelp at the Lip Sin market. It's far pricier than dried kelp (dried kelp is RM1.90 but fresh kelp retails at RM5.50 for a small packet). Fresh kelp must be kept in the chiller or freezer. You can eat it raw or lightly boiled. Before you add into your miso soup, remember to rinse it under running water and slice into bite-size pieces.

I call this my 3-minute soup. Itadake mase!

Comments

Lexa Justice said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Krista Goon said…
Hi Celeste: Aww, thanks for your comment! I am learning still but thanks for the good words. I am not a physician or doctor but I try to refer to other websites or books whenever I need to verify some fact. Will put more herbal soup recipes up soon... come back for more ;-)

Popular posts from this blog

Tong Sum and Red Date Tea

I caught an interesting cooking show on TV last night. On Astro's Asian Food Channel (Channel 703), I watched a show on TCM. It was a Taiwanese programme where the host and hostess spoke in Mandarin and sometimes a smattering of Taiwan Hokkien. The show featured 3 recipes each segment, using TCM herbs with the herbalist host explaining about the uses of the specific herbs. Then the lady hostess would cook up a dish, usually a main course, using the herbs. While I am not very interested in making dishes like prawn balls with Chinese herbs (it seemed just too much work!), I liked the 2 other recipes they showed. One was a milk beverage with herbs (I can't recall what now). But the other one was easy. A tong sum and red date tea. Tong sum or dang shen is a mild herb which resembles a dry, gnarled twig the size of a finger. It is called the poor man's ginseng in some instances because it shares similar properties with the more expensive ginseng. Dang shen is actually a root wh

24 Herb Tea - Bitter, Foul-Tasting But Oh So Good For You!

Was out running a couple of errands this entire afternoon and ended up buying groceries at the nearby supermarket. If I had a choice I wouldn't go into this decade-old supermarket because it's small, cramped and you tend to knock into other shoppers with your trolley (yes, the aisles are that narrow). Nic and I figured that we might as well buy our groceries since we were in this vicinity and he did need some coffee. Finally we ended up with a trolley full of cheese, butter, coffee and noodles. Anyway, I was getting thirsty after all the errands and shopping. We decided to stop and have a drink at this stall which sells Chinese herbal tea. This uncle who mans it is actually a Hong Kong native who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. He drives a little white van which he parks at the corner of a junction and opens up for business. You see, he sells hot and cold Chinese herbal teas of all types - the kind that is slowly boiled and brewed. It's common to see Mal

Snow Fungus, Longan, Goji Berry & Red Date Dessert For Lungs & Liver

Just last week I made this dessert because I was rummaging in my kitchen and found some snow fungus. This is a classic dessert that any Cantonese would know. I was just surprised at myself that I haven't made this dessert in a long time. Maybe because I didn't have the key ingredient - snow fungus - at hand! What is Snow Fungus?  It is technically a fungus that grows on dead bark or tree stumps just like wood ear fungus.  Snow fungus or silver ear, snow ear or white wood ear is known as Tremella fuciformis and yes, it is an edible fungus. The pleasanter term is mushroom if that makes you feel better. As most mushrooms go, they contain vitamin D, zinc, calcium, and folate.  Benefits of Snow Fungus Snow fungus is said to have anti-ageing effects due to the presence of superoxide dismutase , an enzyme that acts as a potent antioxidant throughout the body, particularly in the skin. It is best known in TCM for nourishing the lungs and we know how important this fact is right now whe