It‘s super easy to make authentic and homemade Japanese Miso Soup! In this recipe, I show you how to make quick and easy soup stock (dashi) from scratch, then create classic miso soup with tofu and wakame seaweed. It‘s delicious and has many health benefits.
Miso soup is a staple in Japanese cuisine and is soup for the soul. We enjoy it almost every single day for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As a Japanese home cook, I would also say that miso soup is probably one of the easiest soups you can make at home.
There are many paths to making miso soup, but once you grasp the basics, you can explore and customize. This post aims to equip you with all the essential knowledge to make yourself a bowl of authentic miso soup at home any time of the day. And trust me, what you make will taste 10,000 times better than the miso soup from Japanese restaurants or the instant varieties.
Table of Contents
- Best Miso Soup Recipe
- 3 Simple Steps to Make Miso Soup
- What is Dashi?
- How to Make Dashi
- Best Miso Paste for Miso Soup
- How Much Miso Paste to Add to the Soup?
- How to Dissolve Miso
- When to Add Tofu to the Soup
- Reheating Miso Soup
- How to Store Miso Soup
- Key Points to Remember
- Advanced: Incorporating Other Ingredients in Miso Soup
- Health Benefits of Miso Soup
- Popular Miso Soup Recipes
Best Miso Soup Recipe
Most Japanese meals are served with a small bowl of steamed rice and a traditional Japanese soup called Miso Soup or Misoshiru (味噌汁). At its most basic, miso soup is simply made of three components:
- Dashi (Japanese soup stock)
- Miso (Japanese soybean paste)
- Soup ingredients of your choice, such as tofu and wakame seaweed
Depending on the region, season, and personal preference, we can make many kinds of miso soup. In addition to the classic tofu and wakame combination I’ll show you today, we also use different savory ingredients such as root and leafy vegetables, meat, and seafood to enhance the soup. That’s why we can never get bored with it.
In this post, I will guide you through the most authentic miso soup recipe and explain how it all comes together in detail.
If you are already familiar with making miso soup, check out my Seasonal Miso Soup Recipe Collection.
3 Simple Steps to Make Miso Soup
Making miso soup is simple, easy, and quick! Let’s master the basic miso soup with tofu and wakame seaweed. Here is the overview of the three steps:
- Make dashi (Japanese soup stock) [20 minutes]
- Add miso [2 minutes]
- Add tofu and wakame and serve [3 minutes]
Once you know how to make this classic Japanese miso soup, you can easily create endless variations by changing the ingredients.
Now let’s dive into each step.
What is Dashi?
Dashi (だし・出汁) is a Japanese soup stock and the base of many Japanese dishes. It is the easiest and quickest broth to make. To make authentic Japanese miso soup, you must use dashi as the soup broth and not chicken stock or vegetable stock. Remember, without dashi, it’s not miso soup.
The most common and basic dashi is Awase Dashi, which is made with kombu (kelp) + katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). Another popular dashi used for miso soup in Japan is Iriko Dashi, made with anchovies.
💡Pro Tip
If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you can use Kombu Dashi (made with kombu) or Vegan Dashi (made with kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms).
Also, did you know there are 6 different types of dashi that you can choose from? Check out The Ultimate Dashi Guide to learn more.
How to Make Dashi
In general, there are three ways to make dashi.
- Homemade dashi — You can make a basic Awase Dashi from scratch by steeping kombu (edible kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) in water. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, use Kombu Dashi or make Vegan Dashi with kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Dashi packet — The dashi packet is the best shortcut method that I use often. Similar to making tea, you steep the dashi packet in water and cook for a couple of minutes. Despite its quick method, the flavor of dashi is pretty good.
- Dashi powder — Dashi powder (dashi granules) is my least favorite method due to its lack of flavor. The flavor and fragrance do not last long. But you can make a quick dashi with just dashi powder and hot water.
In this recipe, I’ll show you how to make both Kombu Dashi (vegan-friendly) and Awase Dashi from scratch!
💡Pro Tip
We use dashi in many Japanese recipes to incorporate umami. You can make a big batch of dashi and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days or in the freezer for two weeks. Use dashi for different recipes throughout the week. With dashi on hand, you can make the basic miso soup in under 5 minutes!
Best Miso Paste for Miso Soup
Miso (味噌) or fermented soybean paste is made from soybeans, grains (steamed rice or barley), salt, and koji culture (麹, a fermentation starter).
There are many different types of miso in the market. In the US, most miso available at mainstream grocery stores goes by colors, such as white miso (shiro miso), red miso (aka miso), and yellow miso (awase miso or mixed miso). If you want to learn more about miso, check out our detailed post.
Each miso paste and brand varies in saltiness and flavor. When it comes to miso soup, there is no “right” miso for your miso soup. Taste and adjust the miso amount. You can mix two to three miso brands/types for more complex flavors or enjoy its unique characters using just one type, especially if you have good-quality miso.
My favorite miso is this Kodawattemasu from Hikari Miso (organic slow-aged red koji miso). It has a more rounded character that goes well with any ingredients. If you want to make miso from scratch, check out How to Make Homemade Miso post.
💡Pro Tip
Dashi-included miso (だし入り味噌) may seem convenient as you don’t need to prepare dashi; however, you can’t expect to enjoy the same health benefits from it. To maintain quality and taste while preventing the container’s expansion, the manufacturer has to add additives and sterilize it by heating, which stops the action of yeasts. Therefore, I don’t recommend opting for dashi-included miso.
How Much Miso Paste to Add to the Soup?
A general rule of thumb in Japan is to add one tablespoon (18 g) of miso paste per miso soup bowl, which holds 200 ml of dashi.
If you are using a US cup, use one tablespoon of miso per cup (240 ml) and add more after tasting it.
💡Pro Tip
When you are trying out a new miso, always start with less than the “one tablespoon per miso soup bowl” rule.
How to Dissolve Miso
Make sure to turn off the stove’s heat so you don’t accidentally boil the miso soup. Always dissolve miso paste first in a ladle, a separate bowl, or a strainer, and never add miso paste directly to the soup! Otherwise, you may find miso clumps while drinking the soup!
You can get my favorite Miso Muddler (One side of the whisk measures 2 Tbsp and the other 1 Tbsp) and a fine-mesh strainer to help dissolve miso.
💡Pro Tip
Add miso paste to dashi right before serving. Why? It’s to savor miso’s best flavor and aroma! Miso will lose its flavor and aroma if you keep reheating the miso soup.
Before adding miso, make sure to bring dashi to a slow boil (205°F/96°C). This temperature is considered the most fragrant stage for miso soup. By the time you are ready to enjoy the soup, it is at an ideal temperature (167ºF or 75ºC) for drinking.
When to Add Tofu to the Soup
How about the tofu? We always add tofu after dissolving miso. This way, you won’t accidentally break up the tofu while mixing in the miso paste. Besides tofu, dried wakame seaweed and green onions are also added at the same time.
Tofu warms up nicely with the remaining heat (unless you put a lot of it) as it doesn’t require “cooking” it. (Did you know it’s edible out of the package? Try Chilled Tofu and Tofu Salad recipes!) Be careful, when you overheat tofu, the water content inside the tofu will seep out, resulting in hardened tofu.
After adding tofu, wakame seaweed, and green onion, serve miso soup immediately while it’s warm. By the time you are ready to enjoy the soup, it is an ideal temperature (167ºF or 75ºC) for drinking.
Types of tofu: You may wonder what type of tofu works best for miso soup. There is a misconception that you have to use silken/soft tofu for miso soup, but that’s not true.
You can use silken or soft tofu (kinugoshi tofu 絹ごし豆腐) for a custardy texture and medium to medium-firm tofu (momen tofu 木綿豆腐) for a spongy texture. In Japan, silken tofu is a slightly more popular choice than medium tofu, but both types of tofu are equally used in miso soup.
💡Pro Tip
Did you know it is common to cut tofu on your palm in Japan? You might have seen it in Japanese dramas or animes. I recommend using a cutting board if you have never done this. The typical tofu size in miso soup is ½ inch (1.3 cm) cubes.
Reheating Miso Soup
If your miso soup is no longer warm, reheat it until simmering (190°F/88°C) and NEVER boil it. Miso soup will lose its flavor and aroma (nothing to do with probiotics—see below).
If you are reheating the leftover miso soup, add about 1 tablespoon (18 g) of miso to the soup (you may need to add more dashi or water). This way, you can enjoy the warm aroma of freshly dissolved miso.
💡Pro Tip
There’s a misconception that boiling miso soup will kill probiotics. However, probiotics are destroyed when the temperature of miso soup is above 140°F (60°C). Rather, the warning for not boiling miso soup is to preserve its flavor and aroma. The Japanese don’t treat miso soup as merely a source of probiotics. To reap the probiotic benefits, use miso in salad dressing and dipping sauces. Miso soup is chock full of protein, fiber, and minerals unaffected by heat!
How to Store Miso Soup
In general, it‘s best to consume all the miso soup right away because it will lose its aroma and taste as time passes. If you like to keep the leftover, let your miso soup cool to room temperature (up to 4 hours; any longer and it will spoil) and then refrigerate. You can keep it for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. You can freeze miso soup for up to 2 weeks. However, you have to remove the tofu before freezing as the texture will change.
To reheat, see the above section for reheating tips.
If you want to make a big batch to store for later, it‘s best to refrigerate the soup without adding the miso. When ready to use, add the miso paste only for the portion you need.
Key Points to Remember
- You can make a big batch of dashi and keep it in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Add miso right before serving. Not mealtime yet? Wait until you’re ready to serve.
- Bring dashi to a slow boil (205°F/96°C), turn off the stove’s heat, and add miso. This temperature is the most fragrant stage for miso soup. By the time you enjoy the soup, it is an ideal temperature (167ºF or 75ºC) for drinking.
- Use one tablespoon per cup or miso soup bowl (200ml) and adjust the taste. Dissolve miso first in a ladle, a separate bowl, or a miso strainer to avoid clumps in the soup.
- Add tofu after dissolving miso (as well as wakame and green onion).
- Never boil miso soup because it loses its flavor and aroma.
Advanced: Incorporating Other Ingredients in Miso Soup
This is a bit more advanced topic, but I’d like to give a quick introduction to it here.
If you’re using root vegetables, place them in cold dashi and cook until they become tender, approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on the vegetable’s density and cut.
For leafy vegetables and mushrooms, you can add them to already simmering dashi (with or without other cooked ingredients) and cook for a few minutes.
Besides tofu and wakame seaweed, you can add seasonal and year-round ingredients to your miso soup. Check out a collection of seasonal miso soup recipes on Just One Cookbook.
Health Benefits of Miso Soup
Japanese people drink miso soup daily, as we believe this delicious and healing soup is a gateway to excellent health. Much like green tea, you can say miso soup is the elixir of the Japanese diet. Here are just some of the health benefits of miso soup:
- Good source of nutrients. Miso is rich in essential minerals such as copper, manganese, protein, Vitamin K, and zinc. Therefore, drinking a bowl of miso soup daily is like taking a natural supplement for your health.
- Good for bones. Miso soup provides many bone-building minerals like calcium, magnesium, and manganese, which help to reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis.
- Improve heart health. The natural compounds in miso, including Vitamin K2, linoleic acid, and saponin, are known to reduce the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol.
To fully enjoy the fantastic health benefits of miso soup, make your own miso soup. Instant miso soup may not be as beneficial, as it often contains higher sodium and additional preservatives. However, some reputable brands are available, so be sure to read the label.
Now that you’ve learned how to make miso soup at home, I hope you enjoy this nourishing soup every day!
Popular Miso Soup Recipes
- Homemade Instant Miso Soup
- Vegan Miso Soup
- Vegetable Miso Soup
- Kabocha Miso Soup
- Tonjiru (Pork & Vegetable Miso Soup)
- Clam Soup (Asari Miso Soup)
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Homemade Miso Soup with Tofu
Video
Ingredients
For the Dashi (makes a scant 4 cups)
- 4 cups water
- 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) (⅓ oz, 10 g per piece; 4 x 4 inches or 10 x 10 cm)
- 1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (packed; I used a loosely packed 3 cups in the video for stronger flavor)
For the Miso Soup
- 7 oz soft/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu)
- 4–5 Tbsp miso (use 1 Tbsp, 18 g for every 1 cup, 240 ml of dashi)
- 1 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed
- 1 green onion/scallion
Instructions
- Before we start… I make Awase Dashi with kombu and katsuobushi in this recipe. You can also make dashi with a dashi packet or powder. For vegan/vegetarian, make the Kombu Dashi I showed below or make Vegan Dashi with kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Cut 1 green onion/scallion into thin rounds.
To Make the Dashi (can make in advance)
- Add 4 cups water and 1 piece kombu (dried kelp) to a medium saucepan. If you have time, soak the kombu in water for 30 minutes. NEVER wash kombu and do not remove the white substance—that’s umami! These days, it‘s pretty clean, so just make sure there are no dirt particles.
- SLOWLY bring it to a boil (about 10 minutes) on medium-low heat so you can extract as much umami from the kombu as possible. Right before the stock boils, remove the kombu and set it aside for another use. (If you leave the kombu, it gets slimy and yields a bitter taste.) Now, what you have is Kombu Dashi. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, use this kombu dashi for your miso soup.
- If you‘re not vegetarian/vegan, add 1 cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) to the kombu dashi and bring it back to a boil again. Once the dashi is boiling, reduce the heat, simmer for just 30 seconds.
- Turn off the heat and let the katsuobushi sink to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Then, strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Now you have roughly 4 cups of Awase Dashi. You can store the dashi in the refrigerator for up to 3–5 days and in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Reserve the spent katsuobushi and repurpose it; see the suggested recipes that follow at the end of the instructions.
To Make the Miso Soup
- Add the dashi to the saucepan. If you are using dashi from the refrigerator, bring it to a slow boil (205°F/96°C) over medium heat and turn off the heat.
- Add 4–5 Tbsp miso. Put the miso in a ladle, slowly add the dashi into the ladle, and stir with chopsticks to dissolve completely. Here, I‘m using a miso muddler. If you accidentally add too much miso, dilute the miso soup with dashi (or water).
- Here, I‘m using a fine-mesh miso strainer, which helps you dissolve the miso faster. After dissolving the miso in the strainer, you may see rice koji (especially when it‘s koji miso). It‘s up to you if you want to include it in the miso soup or discard it (personal preference).
- Cut 7 oz soft/silken tofu (kinugoshi dofu) into ½-inch (1.3 cm) cubes and add to the miso soup. Tip: Add the tofu after the miso is completely dissolved; otherwise, you might break the tofu when stirring in the miso. Note: It is very common to cut tofu on your palm in Japan. However, I recommend using a cutting board if you have never done this.
- Add 1 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed and the chopped green onions to the pot right before serving to keep their fresh fragrance and color. Tip: If you worry about salt intake, I recommend rehydrating the dried wakame in a separate bowl of water to get rid of the saltiness, instead of rehydrating it in the soup itself. If reheating, warm up the miso soup until it is just hot. NEVER BOIL miso soup because it loses flavor and aroma.
To Serve
- Serve immediately. Place on the right side of the table setting; you can read about this in my post Ichiju Sansai (One Soup Three Dishes).
To Store
- In general, it‘s best to consume all the miso soup right away because it will lose its aroma and taste as time passes. Let your miso soup cool to room temperature (up to 4 hours; any longer and it will spoil) and then refrigerate. Keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. If you want to make a big batch to store for later, it‘s best to refrigerate the soup without adding the miso. When ready to use, add the miso only for the portion you need. You can freeze miso soup for up to 2 weeks. However, you have to remove the tofu before freezing as the texture will change.
To Reheat the Miso Soup
- Heat the miso soup in a pot over medium heat, but do not boil. Miso loses its nutrients, flavor, and aroma at high temperatures.
What to do with the spent katsuobushi and kombu?
- Save the spent kombu and katsuobushi in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
- With the spent kombu, you can make Simmered Kombu (Kombu Tsukudani).
- You can also make Homemade Furikake (Rice Seasoning).
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on Mar 3, 2011. The recipe was revised and updated on June 7, 2022. The post was updated with new images, a new video, and more helpful content on February 2, 2024.
After Thanksgiving, I boiled the turkey bones. I was getting tired of white turkey stew, so tried turkey miso soup. Not traditional, but was amazing.
Do you have any recipes for tougan (winter melon)? That’s the only thing that did well in my garden this year.
Hi Jeanne,
Thank you very much for sharing your cooking experience with us!
As for Tougan, we currently don’t have the recipe on the site. We’ll make sure to add the recipe to Nami’s list. Thanks for your request!
However, Nami has a recipe for oxtail soup. Tougan may be a good addition to the soup. 😉
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-oxtail-broth/
This probably isn’t news to anyone, but as a relative beginner in the use of dashi for basically anything, miso soup has rapidly become an easy staple. Dashi doesn’t keep forever, and it’s great to have something guaranteed to do with it so it never gets wasted. Don’t feel like cooking up something complicated? Miso soup! Just want something light and ridiculously healthy? Miso soup! Got literally anything lying around that goes in it that you’re not sure what to do with? Boil up some miso and toss it in there.
I’ve taken to tossing in frozen vegetables before boiling the dashi; not particularly sophisticated and there are definitely better ingredients, but it works and it’s basically always an option once you have the dashi (since everything else has a very long shelf life) so there are advantages. I’m using kombu+shiitake dashi, so I get to add in the mushrooms from that, too. At some point in the future I should probably look into picking up some tofu to produce something a little more hearty, but for now this recipe has served very well indeed. Even if it does often feel like I’m using it a tad clumsily.
One question, though: The whole process of dissolving the miso seems a tad similar to how a tea infuser is used (you place an ingredient inside and suspend it in hot water until the flavor has dispersed). Would it be reasonable to use something like that for miso soup by placing the miso inside and letting it rest in the soup until dissolved, or is this liable to take too long or cause other problems? (I could imagine it having too much heat applied before dissolving completely, for instance)
Hi DC!
Thank you for loving Japanese Miso soup!💕
The reason we want to dissolve the Miso faster is to serve a good aroma in a bowl of soup. Miso’s aroma and flavor will start to loose if you leave it in the pot too long. Moreover, Miso tastes better when it not overcook. 😉
You say in Japan Miso soup is always served with rice. Do you put rice in the soup at the table? Or do you get rice on a chopstick and dip it in the soup? Or do you put some rice in your mouth and then a spoon of soup?
Hi Betty,
We usually enjoy the taste separately.
Here is the link we recommend to check out about how we serve Japanese meals.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/ichiju-sansai/
I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe! I love miso soup but always assumed it would take far too long for me to make it at home. Your recipe is so simple and clearly written, though, and I love how you make it so easy to change up the ingredients. I’ve made this several times, and it’s always been delicious. I live in San Antonio, and we don’t have very many large Japanese or Asian grocery stores. The Japanese store near me only has dashi powder, so I use that instead. If I ever find kombu, I’ll be sure to make dashi from scratch!
Hi Hope,
We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed making miso soup! Not too tricky, right?
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
Homemade miso soup is the best!😋
Hello, I’m going to make miso soup but I need more than 2 servings. I need 6 to8 servings. I did buy the ingredients to make Dashi and I also bought Hondashi. If you could please tell me how to increase the ingredients I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for help and the wonderful recipes.
Hi Maggie! For 6-8 servings, you will need 6-8 cups dashi. Each cup you will need 1 tbsp miso. However, each miso has different saltiness, so you have to gradually add and taste the soup. I’ve updated the recipe to make it easier to understand… I hope that helps! 🙂
I made this for the kids, just dashi and white miso. I added spinach and scallions to my own. My daughter liked it, my son wasn’t sure, and my wife said it was “too fishy”. A little weird because we used the same recipe for dashi ochazuke earlier this year. I don’t think it was too fishy but I might try with less than 1c of bonito flakes next time. The flakes were a little old… maybe that was it?
Hi SD! Thank you for trying this recipe! Yeah, reduce the amount of katsuobushi if it tasted “fishy” (that’s the only ingredient that can be fishy). Older katsuobushi tends to lack in flavor, but katsuobushi also varies in quality too. Try less and see if they like it. I don’t smell or taste “fishy” with dashi as I grew up eating. 😅
Hi! I love miso soup and recently went to a local restaurant and tried a seafood miso soup on their menu, where they served their miso soups with 3 shellfish (shrimp, bay scallops, & mussels) instead of tofu. As a seafood lover, I really enjoyed it and want to create it at home. My question is, when would I add these 3 shellfish? Could I add all of them into the pot right before bringing the dashi to a boil all at the same time, or do some of these shellfish take longer to cook (for ex. put mussels in first, then a few minutes later add baby scallops, then shrimp etc)? If you know which order and when it would be best to add all of these shellfish in before adding the miso paste, please let me know! Looking forward to making this.
Hi Anika! Was miso in it, or clear? Often times, seafood soup is made with clear broth from cooking the seafood (and add sake and salt). You can definitely cook the seafood first, strain it (IMPORTANT!) and add miso too. The order may depend on the size too, but the typical cooking order should be scallops, mussels, and shrimp at last.
I was thinking of cooking the shrimp, scallops and mussels inside the dashi before adding in the miso paste. Would that work? Thank you for replying!
So sorry forgot to answer that. Yes, that is fine. 🙂
Hi there.
How long does miso keep in the fridge once it’s opened? I haven’t used miso much and by the time I remember to use it, a lot of time has passed. There is no best before/expiry date on the package either.
Thanks.
Hi Trish! You can keep the miso for up to one year in the refrigerator or freezer. I have a lot of miso recipes, and I hope you enjoy using it!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/miso/
Hi Nami,
thank you for the recipe! I’ll certainly try it out soon.
Unfortunately I can’t find yellow miso where I live, but I do have access to shiro miso, genmai miso and mugi miso.
Can these also be used? If so, which one would you recommend?
Thank you and have a great day,
Melania
Hi Melania! Thank you for your kind words. It does not have to be yellow miso. I make my miso soup everyday, and everyday I use different types of miso so it’s not boring. Genmai (brown rice), mugi (barley), and shiro miso/white miso (soybeans)… so pick whichever you want to try. If you’re not sure, try from white miso (shiro miso). It’s mellow and easy to get used to miso. 🙂
Thank you Nami! I tried with the brown rice miso and it turned out great. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Hi Melania! I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you!!!
This is my go-to website for all japanese recipes! Thus miso soup is soooo delicious and authentic-tasting, if you can get your hands on the right ingredients! I love this site so much!
Hi Nikki! Aww thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, too. 🙂
I have not been able to find yellow miso where I live (in Denmark). Could I possibly use a mix of red and white miso to get a similar result? Or what other kind of miso would you recommend in place of yellow miso? 🙂
Hi Alex! You can use any miso you like for your miso soup. I have whole varieties of different miso in my fridge so we don’t get bored with the same flavor of miso soup. You can blend two together or you can use red only etc depending on the type of food you make. It’s fun to change up. 🙂
Hi Nami, your recipes are easy to follow & the results tasty too! Like this simple & nutritious Miso Soup recipes. Many more of your recipes to try, heehee :)) Take care & thank you very much.
Hi Esther! Thank you so much for your kind feedback on my recipes. I’m glad you enjoy them! 🙂
Hi! I was wondering what you think is wrong with MSG – I’ve personally never felt any uncomfortable reactions from it & I’ve read research online that suggests that perceived negative effects from MSG is more the result of xenophobia or is actually from other factors from the food containing MSG. I’m curious about your opinion on this, as I’ve seen quite a few recipes where you steer people away from options containing MSG.
e.g. this article: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-msg-got-a-bad-rap-flawed-science-and-xenophobia/
Hi Kaiwen! I grew up eating food that sprinkled with Ajinomoto was fine (when I was younger). These days my mom doesn’t use it and we learned we don’t need it to make our food delicious.
With many people are more health-conscious, we have more MSG-free products in Japan too. I personally don’t have any migraines or any effect which forces me to avoid MSG, but being a food blogger, I get to hear from many readers who experience it personally.
Whatever it is, my approach is to keep it healthy and not rely on artificial flavors… maybe I’m more Californian that way. I find a lot of Japanese products filled with unknown words (MSG and preservatives) and corn syrup etc that I wish they will change for the future generation. I’m not so crazy about convenience store foods etc too for the same reason. I limit the intake of those premade/MSG and preservative-filled products in our family’s diet. I do use Japanese mayonnaise (MSG included) occasionally and I think it’s delicious and makes the food delicious (Okonomiyaki, sandwiches, potato salad…). Sure, I can make homemade Mayo too but considering all the work, I don’t mind the use of mayo especially it’s not every day. That’s my approach when it comes to MSG. Another example is Japanese curry roux. I do make homemade roux too when I feel like it or when I have more time, but sometimes I love the convenience and nostalgic taste of Japanese curry roux.
Not sure if I answered your question, but that’s my own opinion.
I made the Tamago Roll and it turned out delicious.
Thanks..arigatogozaiimasu.
Hi Patricia! I’m glad to hear that you made Tamago Roll! Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
Amazing recipe! I made the dashi yesterday as a big batch so I could have miso soup for lunches. Took me 10 minutes on my lunch break to reheat everything today. I added soft tofu and wakame seaweed to this recipe (that is how it used to be made for me when I was small). <3 I don’t know why I never thought about this as a homemade lunch option years ago! I took one bite and it was like a time machine taking me back to my childhood.
Hi Schortzie! Thank you so much for your kind feedback and for sharing your story. It made me very happy! Experiment with the ingredients you have and you will never get bored. I love thinking about what to cook in my miso soup every day based on the menu. 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to write your comment!