Happy Sunday, loves! I hope you enjoyed a satisfying weekend, and are feeling prepared for the week ahead!
Earlier this year, I found myself craving miso soup. But, since most commercially available miso soup mixes contain fish, I decided to hunt down a vegetarian version. Enter Amazon. After a little hunting, I found a miso soup mix that seemed like a pretty good bet.
I was excited to find a vegetarian miso soup mix, because I really wanted to continue eliminating animal product from my diet. This soup mix by Miyasaka was reasonably priced ($14 for 12 packets) and available via Amazon Prime.
So I ordered. And here’s what I have to say about it.
This soup is a pretty good substitute for traditional miso soup. However, the flavor is not nearly as full-bodied as traditional miso soup. The traditional base – dashi – is made with kelp and bonito flakes. This soup mix doesn’t have dashi, because bonito flakes are actually fish, and that would, by definition, make the mix non-vegetarian.
So, I learned that no bonito means less robust flavoring. But that’s okay: after all, I regularly alter my recipes and omit meat/animal based ingredients when I am looking to minimize my meat intake. And truthfully, the soup is still tasty, just not quite like the traditional version.
I did learn a little trick for making the flavor more intense: use less water. I did that a few times and I enjoyed the more concentrated version. So if you try this soup and find yourself missing the flavor of dashi, try adding a little less water.
Any other fans of Japanese food out there? Let me know in the comments below
