Chef Joshua Hebert is an awfully busy guy, so we completely understand why he was unable to send us a recipe for his famous Miso Soup this week…

No–but really folks, it’s culinary season here in Arizona, and the chefs are running around like crazy getting ready for the Scottsdale Culinary Festival, arguably the biggest food festival in Arizona, and DEFINITELY on many gourmet radars throughout the Southwest. Here’s a recipe we think Chef Josh would have sent us…correct us if we’re wrong Hebert! 😉

Dashi Recipe

Ingredients

  • 4 cups water
  • 5” x 5” piece of kombu
  • ½ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes)

 

Place the kombu in the water, and place on a burner set to medium You must watch the pot carefully because you have to remove the kombu from the water when it floats to the surface, before the water boils.  After removing the kombu, as the dashi starts boiling, take the pot off the heat and add the katsuobushi. Let the katsuobushi soak until it sinks to the bottom. Strain through a fine sieve.

 

Miso Soup Recipe

Ingredients

 

  • 4 cups dashi
  • 3 tbsp miso paste
  • ½ block Tofu (Firm), diced
  • ½ cup wakame (dried seaweed)

 

First, soak ½ cup wakame in lukewarm water for 10 minutes. Rinse the reconstituted wakame, roughly chop it and add it, along with the tofu, to 4 cups of hot dashi. Remove about ½ cup of dashi into a separate bowl, and add 3 tablespoons of white, red, or a combination of the two. Whisk the miso paste into the dashi until smooth, return the mixture to the pot, and thoroughly stir the soup until the miso is distributed evenly. Garnish with chopped green onions.

 

This soup is a great appetizer for a Japanese-style entrée.