Dashi is traditionally made from bonito fish flakes. But you can
find dashi powder or concentrated dashi liquid in the ethnic food aisle
in some major chain stores, at Asian grocery stores or at The Asian Food Grocer on-line. Follow the directions on the back of the box.
If you have an allergy to fish, miso can be made without dashi.
You'll need:
4 cups of dashi or vegetable broth
3 tablespoons of white miso
1/2 block of FIRM tofu - cut in 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup of dry Wakame seaweed
flakes
Radish sprouts or enoki mushrooms for garnish
A little adult help
Equipment:
A 4 quart sauce pan
Cooking chopsticks or a pair of tongs
A butter knife
A ladle
Hot pads
Individual serving bowls
Soak the seaweed according to package
directions. The brand we had looked like tiny crumbles until it was put
in water then it plumped up to 10 times its size. So read the package
directions.
Rinse the seaweed and cut it into 1 inch strips.
Bring the dashi or vegetable broth to a boil. Then turn the broth down while you do this next part.
Add the miso to the dashi and stir until the miso is dissolved.
Bring the soup to a boil again, stirring to make sure there are no lumps.
Add the seaweed for about 20 seconds.
Pour the soup into individual bowls. Add the tofu squares and garnish
with sprouts and/or mushrooms. Serve the soup immediately. Yum!
