Miso-Shiru Variations: Seasonal Approaches

Ingredients

• Spring — Asari Clam Miso-Shiru
• 500 g asari clams (Manila clams), scrubbed
• 800 ml dashi, prepared
• 60 g white miso (shiro miso)
• 120 g young tofu, cut into small cubes
• 20 g trefoil (mitsuba), stems trimmed, cut into short lengths
• Summer — Hiyajiru (Cold Miso Soup)
• 800 ml dashi, cold
• 60 g light awase miso
• 80 g cucumber, thinly sliced
• 30 g myoga ginger, thinly sliced
• 4 portions cooked rice, for serving
• Autumn — Matsutake Miso-Shiru
• 800 ml dashi, prepared
• 60 g red miso (aka miso)
• 1 matsutake mushroom, wiped clean, sliced paper-thin
• 4 small strips yuzu peel, cut to float on surface
• Winter — Kenchin-Jiru
• 800 ml dashi, prepared
• 60 g dark miso
• 200 g daikon, peeled, cut into half-moons
• 100 g root vegetables (carrot, burdock), peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 100 g tofu, crumbled roughly by hand
• 80 g konnyaku, torn into rough pieces
• 1 tbsp sesame, for thickening the broth
• 50 g negi (Japanese leek), sliced on the diagonal

Method

1. 1
   SPRING. Bring the dashi to a gentle simmer. Add the scrubbed asari clams. This is where the dish lives or dies: the clams must open in the broth, releasing their liquor directly into the soup — do not cook them separately, and do not allow the broth to boil hard, which toughens the flesh and drives off the delicate briny sweetness that aligns chemically with white miso. Discard any clam that does not open. Done when all shells are open and the liquor has mingled with the dashi.
2. 2
   SPRING (continued). Remove the pot from heat. Dissolve the white miso in a ladleful of the hot broth, then stir back into the pot. Add the young tofu cubes. Do not return to the boil — miso loses its aromatic compounds above a simmer. Ladle into bowls and lay trefoil over the surface. Done when the miso fragrance rises clean and the tofu holds its shape.
3. 3
   SUMMER. Thin the light awase miso into the cold dashi, whisking until fully dissolved with no lumps remaining. Taste: the broth should be savoury but lighter than a hot preparation. Chill if not already cold. Place cooked rice in bowls, lay cucumber and myoga ginger over the rice, and pour the cold miso broth over at the table. Done when the broth is fully cold and the miso is completely dissolved.
4. 4
   AUTUMN. Bring the dashi to a gentle simmer. Dissolve the red miso off the heat in a ladleful of dashi, then return to the pot. Add the paper-thin matsutake slices to the hot soup and allow them to steep for one minute only — matsutake's fragrance is volatile and prolonged heat destroys it. Ladle into bowls. Float one strip of yuzu peel on each portion. Done when the pine-and-spice fragrance of the matsutake rises from the bowl.
5. 5
   WINTER. Simmer daikon, carrot, and burdock in the dashi until a skewer passes through the daikon without resistance. Add konnyaku and tofu; simmer a further two minutes. Remove from heat. Dissolve dark miso into the broth. Stir in sesame to thicken. Add negi. Ladle into deep bowls. Done when the broth is opaque, hearty in aroma, and the root vegetables yield completely to pressure.