Poached Egg Miso Soup
Is it just me or did winter sneak up behind us, in the midst of our summer holiday? True to San Francisco weather, we had two precious weeks of 70 degrees, sunny park lunches, followed quickly with the a search for our wool hats and boot socks. With the rainy weeks ahead I thought it the perfect time to talk soup. Those of you who know me, know that my relationship with soup has been a rocky road. My mom would always cook up big pots of everything-in-fridge-soup, that I would force down throughout the week. Resentful that I was once again face to face with the vegetables I had rejected so certainly just a week before. Once I was free to rule over my own kitchen, I vowed to ban all soups, stews and watery leftovers from my kitchen table. But I admit, I have softened through the years. Maybe its due to chilly San Francisco living, or that a blended soup offers something much more complex and intriguing. Or possibly that my 'ol mom was onto something and that I now recognize that soups are a great way to make a nourishing meal. Whatever it is, I have turned a corner and am always looking for interesting new ways to make amends with my old enemy.
This week I was inspired by The Kitchn's winter soup round-up and made this super easy, nourishing miso soup for dinner last week. It is the perfect prescription to rainy nights and fall colds and will leave you wishing your mom was around to fix you soup.
Poached Egg Miso
INGREDENTS
2 quarts good broth
1/2 cup miso paste
One 12-ounce block soft tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 small bunch scallions, green tops sliced thin
Greens (I used spicy broccolini in this version but bok choi, chard, pea shoots or dandelion greens would be great.)
Chili flakes
Kombu (a seaweed that adds flavor, nutrients and digestibility to soups, grains and beans.)
For each bowl:
1 cup cooked brown rice (or quinoa)
1 large egg
Soy sauce
Sambal (aka rooster sauce.)
Sesame oil
DIRECTIONS
Pour stock into a large saucepan. Add a 3 inch piece of kombu to the cold stock and bring to a boil. While stock is boiling ready the miso paste into a small bowl or measuring sup. Add boiling stock to the miso and whisk until completely dissolved then combine with the stock. Keep over low heat; do not let the broth boil after the miso has been added.
Stir in the tofu cubes and the sliced scallions, and heat just until warmed through.
Meanwhile add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to a pan. Once hot, add your greens and stir to evenly coat with sesame oil. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon- 1 teaspoon (depending on taste) over the greens, add a splash of water lower the heat and cover for approximately 5 minutes or until the greens have wilted.
To prepare a bowl of soup Place 1 cup cooked white rice in each soup bowl. Poach an egg for each bowl of soup. (Alternatively, you can add an egg to a bowl of hot broth, cover it, and let stand for several minutes.)
Pour about 1 cup of miso soup over the rice in each bowl, place a poached egg on top and add wilted greens. Serve with soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and sesame oil.
Nutritional Benefits
Seaweed is a super food you should be eating. The Japanese have been cooking with sea vegetables for centuries to enhance both the flavor and nutrition of their dishes. Seaweed offers the broadest range of minerals of any food as they contain every single mineral found in the ocean. The highlights are iodine which support the thyroid, lignans which offer cancer prevention, funcan substances dramatically lower the inflammation in the body. Seaweed also has theraputic levels of folic acid and magnesium which protect the heart, cardiovascular system and support women in menopause. And last but not least a broad range of B vitamins to decrease stress and anxiety. (Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, Murray, 2005.)
Adding pieces of kombu to your soup stocks, grains and beans will allow the nutrients to be absorbed by the food. You can also try dulce flakes as a seasoning and of course seaweed sheets for making sushi and wraps.
