Recipe · Mushroom 101
Nameko Miso Soup with Silken Tofu
Vegan swaps insideThe Japanese standard. Tiny amber Nameko caps hold their silky, slightly gelatinous body when simmered in dashi — combined with silken tofu and white miso, this is breakfast in Tokyo and dinner in winter.
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1
Bring the dashi to a gentle simmer in a medium pot. Don't boil — boiling weakens the dashi's nuance.
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2
Add the Nameko mushrooms. Simmer 3 minutes — caps wilt slightly, broth picks up their silkiness.
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3
Carefully slide in the tofu cubes. Simmer 1 more minute.
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4
Pull the pot off the heat. Place the miso in a small ladle or fine sieve; lower it into the broth and stir with chopsticks to dissolve directly into the soup (this prevents lumps).
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5
Taste — adjust with more miso if shy.
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6
Ladle into bowls. Float scallion + nori strips on top.
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7
Serve immediately, with rice + a pickle if you want it as a meal.
Steps
More from this mushroom
Other ways to cook Nameko
Nameko Nabe (Donabe Hot Pot)
A bubbling tabletop hot pot built around Nameko's slippery-silky texture, with napa cabbage, tofu, and dashi-mirin broth. Cook-at-the-table dinner-for-two; everything goes in one pot and gets ladled out hot.
Hot Nameko Soba in Mushroom-Dashi Broth
Buckwheat soba noodles in a clear, deeply-savory broth thick with Nameko caps. The mushrooms' silky coating slightly thickens the broth around each strand. Quintessential 15-minute Japanese weeknight dinner.