Miso Soup with Shitake and Spinach (Made with Paste, Not Packets)

Miso Soup ordered from a Japanese Restaurant menu generally has bonito (fish) flakes, seaweed, tofu, green onion, and sometimes, shiitake mushrooms. However, the soup does not have to have all those ingredients to make it a savory, salty, palate-pleasing soup. The following recipe only uses three ingredients; only TWO of which are from the Asian market, and involves very little prep time. Packets of dry miso soup mix take even less time to prepare, but tend to have MSG, more sodium, and can get expensive.

Red miso paste and dried shiitake can generally be found at your local Asian market. Some specialty stores may also carry these items. If you absolutely love miso soup, the purchase of red miso paste is worth every penny; one pouch is enough to make several pots of this 15-minute soup. If red miso is not available, brown can also be used. Shiitake is not crucial to the soup, but it adds a wonderful earthy flavor to the dish. Either fresh or frozen spinach can be used in this particular recipe. I used frozen spinach  in this dish, as I find this freezer-section veg to be more convenient and usually cheaper than it's produce department counterpart.

Miso Soup with Shitake and Spinach

Yeilds: 2 Servings

Ingredients:

2 cups	Water
2 Tbsp	Red Miso Paste
1/2 cup	Dried Shitake Mushroom
1/2 cup	Spinach

Method:

1. Fill a small pot with the water, and add the dried mushrooms. Bring to a boil.

2. When water comes to a full boil, quickly turn heat to medium, and add the spinach. Cook for 3 minutes.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low. In a small bowl, dissolve the miso in a small amount of the broth. 

Da Paste

Dissolved Paste

4. Add dissolved miso paste to the broth, then serve.

Tips:
1. If concerned about salt intake, decrease miso paste to 1 Tbsp. Or, only consume a cup instead of a full bowl, which would be around 333mg of sodium.
2. If concerned about alcohol content (there is a very small amount) decrease to 1 Tbsp, and add fish sauce, bonito flakes, or nori if salt is still desired.
3. Bonito flakes should really be used to make this recipe more authentic, as bonito flakes are traditionally used to make the broth. In this recipe, shitake is used to make a mushroom broth. If you're up for buying more at the Asian market, I suggest buying the bonito flakes, which can also be used later in seafood soups.
4. To make this a more filling soup, try boiling frozen dumplings in the soup after step 1, but before adding the spinach. Or, cube silken tofu and add after step 2, but before adding the paste.  

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving):

Calories: 53, Carbs:7, Fat: 1, Protein:3, Sodium: 831