Simple Breakfast Miso Soup

By RoketJSquerl

My personal breakfast brew
I often do this as a winter morning beverage, although on overheated summer mornings, it's a nice light start when the thought of having to cook makes you not want to eat at all.

I get all my ingredients in bulk from Asian grocery stores or organic/health food groceries.

Ingredients

• 1 Piece Kombu Seaweed, approx 2"
• 1 C. Water
• 1 T Dried Bonito Flakes
• 1 T Miso Paste (white Miso)

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from squidoo.com

Preparation

Step 1

How to Prepare:
Put water and kombu into a small pan and simmer, removing kombu when water starts to boil. Then add the bonito, and turn off the heat, letting the flakes steep for a few minutes. The stronger you let them steep, the stronger the fish flavor of the broth. Spoon the miso paste into a large mug or small bowl. Pour fish broth over the miso through a strainer to filter out the bonito flakes, and stir, blending well. Let cool to a comfortable warm temperature, then drink.

Pretty easy, huh? You want to make sure never to incorporate miso into water that is at boiling temperature, as it ruins the flavor. Any type of miso paste can work, but I tend to use white for this one as the kombu and bonito add enough of a salty flavor already.

Additions For Variation:
(all of these I add along with the miso paste, and they cook to a nice tenderness while the miso broth cools down to drinking temperature, but experiment to see what you like.)
~ a sprinkling of green onion, sliced into teeny bits
~ a few extremely thin slices of carrot. You should be almost able to see thru the carrot slices.
~ a pinch of noodles (ramen or somen) broken small enough to soak entirely in the mug of broth
~ a few pieces of cooked chicken