How to make Japanese soups

I am guessing by now you have mastered making dashi, so now let’s move on to making something wonderful with that umami powered stock!

Noodle based soups are marvellous things from ramen, udon or soba noodles are the classics, but to be honest you don’t always need the noodles. Like any soup you find the world over it’s more about using what you have to create flavour. I love adding carrots to almost every soup I make as they impart such a light yet rich background taste. Of course onion is important too in the base of most soups as they give instant sweet savoury. You can make a stock with just these two things by stuffing a pan full of them in equal parts, adding water and boiling until they are near disintegration. Simply strain and you have a worthy base for a soup or stew.

For our Japanese style soups there are two ingredients which are a must, soy sauce for ‘meatiness’ and even more umami, and mirin for sweetness and a touch of the exotic. Simply add two tablespoons of each to your litre dashi or vegetable stock and you are good to go! The rest of the soup is up to your imagination, I would recommend sliced shitake mushrooms (an instant taste of Japan), spring onions (scallions) and sliced daikon the Japanese white raddish. If you think this raddish is hard to get hold of fresh in the UK, think again. Ask in your supermarket or local Asian store by the Indian name mooli, it’s the same thing :) Then add some more vegetables like kale or spring greens and definitely throw in a clove or two of garlic. Then remember to season with salt to taste, and do use salt don’t try to season with soy sauce as the taste is too powerful.

Now give the soup something meaty for people to get their teeth into, either some different mushrooms, Asian or otherwise (as per the main picture), or chicken, beef, seafood etc. You can either fry these ingredients then add on top at serving or you can poach them in your soup. Either way if you are cooking meat or seafood please ensure it is thoroughly cooked through. To serve cook your favourite noodles in fresh water as per instructions, strain then add to your serving bowls, spoon in to larger pieces from the soup then pour over your delicious stock and top with your fried extras (if you made them). If you really can’t wait just go for the soup in a bowl and get stuck in! There you have it, authentic Japanese style soup/noodle bowl, beautiful to look at, delicious to eat and simple right? Please share what you used in your soup and tell us how delicious it was in the comments below. Michael Robinson