Mackerel miso soup
This is inspired by a game-changing soup I once ate at a chef’s residency in London. David Chang (founder of the New York restaurant group Momofuku) was cooking at the St John Hotel for a week and his menu included a miso soup made from a broth infused with smoked eel bones. I make it with either smoked eel or smoked mackerel and it has become something of a store-cupboard supper.
A note on dashi
Dashi is a simple stock made using dried bonito flakes and kelp, sometimes with the addition of mushrooms. The good news is that most people in Japan do not make it themselves – sachets of instant dashi are as common there as stock cubes are here (and much better). I buy mine through souschef.co.uk. Waitrose also sells ready-to-use liquid dashi in plastic pouches.
Ingredients
Ingredients
Method
Step 1
Bring the dashi to a simmer. Put the miso in a small bowl and thin it using 1tbsp of the broth to help it disperse more easily. Then stir this mixture into the remaining dashi.
Step 2
To serve, put the smoked mackerel or smoked eel in the bottom of the bowls with the tofu and wakame, and pour over the broth. Top with the sliced spring onions.
