Sushi Saturday: Miso Soup

Sapporo may not have been used to make the miso, but it was instrumental in the night's success.

Kevin and I had a shocking realization this past week- We had not partaken in a massively extravagant cooking adventure in months. The most recent non-grilling event was our delightful Mother's Day Waffle-Off back in May (imagine that- law school, surgeries and jobs take up time), so it was time to revisit our cooking guy love with a vengeance! We would prove our culinary dominance and our bravery by having a night filled with the best Japanese cuisine has to offer- Miso, Tempura and Sushi.

Would we be able to rekindle our cooking chemistry with a one of a kind Sushi feast, or would we be felled by giant beers, sake and questionable fish?

Miso Soup
Adapted from All Recipes
Servings: 4-6

Soft tofu doesn't stand up to cutting well.

Time: 20 minutes

2 tsp dashi granules
4 cups water
2 tbsp red miso paste
1 tbsp white miso paste
8 oz silken tofu, drained and diced
2 Chinese Chives, diced into 1/2" pieces.

1. Combine the water and dashi in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in the tofu and green onion.
3. Simmer lightly for 3 minutes and serve.

I managed to not make a single "Miso horny" joke once all night! Adulthood achieved (Ahhhh, crap...)

While Kevin proved his manliness by getting oil scorching hot for deep frying the tempura (but more so I could cleverly force him to peel and devein all the shrimp), I took care of the standard appetizer fare of steamed edamame and miso soup. I was amazed at how simple it was to make miso. Seriously, just twenty minutes and essentially stirring like 5 ingredients into a pot of boiling and then simmering water is all that's required. Mixing red and white miso provided some complexity to our simple soup and allowed it to stand up to any restaurant miso I've ever had. We were definitely off to a great start to our flavorful journey to Japan (plus it's always super cool watching the miso clouds form and move about).

Kevin's fancy camera makes our mushy edamame look far more exciting than it was (note: be careful when steaming still frozen edamame). Also, enjoy the sneak peak of our tempura.

Stay tuned for the final two amazing chapter of Sushi Saturday: Sapporo Tempura and Sushi Rolls and Nigiri Galore! Watch as our creativity increases as a direct function of sake consumption!

The secret to fancy pictures is selective blurriness. Kevin's fancy camera makes me feel like I'm writing for an actual serious food blog. Take that, uninteresting tuna!