Carrot Ginger Miso Soup

Winter is a great time to enjoy hearty soup, but hearty soup doesn’t necessarily call for heavy cream to make it look creamy and inviting. You can create a creamy and rich looking soup with miso paste, like this very simple recipe for carrot ginger miso soup.

What goes into this carrot ginger miso soup?

For the soup, you will need oil, onion, garlic, carrot, ginger, salt, pepper, Japanese kombu dashi (or vegetable stock), and white miso.

If you don’t have white miso paste (shiro miso), you can also use red miso paste (aka miso) and combination miso paste (awase miso).

Using different miso paste to make the same soup will give you a slightly different flavor to the soup, so feel free to experiment to find your favorite.

Also, although miso paste is vegan-friendly, they are not necessarily gluten-free, so always double-check the packaging to confirm.

For garnish, you will need scallions, nori, nanami togarashi (Japanese seven spice chili pepper), and sesame oil.

You can use roasted nori sheet for sushi roll, or even seasoned roasted nori for snacking. In fact, most of my family members prefer snacking nori.

What is kombu dashi?

Kombu dashi is a Japanese vegetable stock made from kombu (Japanese dried kelp). There are several ways to prepare kombu dashi.

1. Cold brew method

Soak 10 gram or 1/3 oz kombu in 4 cups of cold water for 2 hours, preferably overnight. Remove the kombu and use the soaking water as kombu dashi.

2. Simmering method

Place 10 gram or 1⁄3 oz kombu and 4 cups of cold water in a pot. Heat over a medium-slow heat, and remove the kombu right before it boils. Use the liquid as kombu dashi.

3. Using kombu dashi powder

The easiest method is to buy some instant kombu dashi powder. To use, simply dissolve the powder in hot water. The ratio will differ from one brand to another, so follow the packaging instruction.

I know that in some places, it may be really difficult to buy kombu or even instant kombu dashi powder. In that case, you can still make this delicious soup with any vegetable stock, so don’t worry about it. :)

How to cook carrot ginger miso soup?

Whether you decide to use kombu dashi or vegetable stock, the step-by-step is the same:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a soup pot. Sauté onion, garlic, and carrot until onion is translucent. About 10 minutes.
2. Add ginger and kombu dashi stock. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook until the carrot is very tender. About 30 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat. Puree the soup in a blender, or with an immersion blender. If using a blender, return pureed soup back into the soup pot.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together white miso paste and a ladle of the soup until the miso paste is fully dissolve. Return this mixture back into the soup pot. Add salt and pepper if needed.
5. Serve the soup hot in soup bowls. Garnish each bowl with some scallions, nori, nanami togarashi, and sesame oil.