Instant. Usually a word to strike terror into the heart of a proper foodie when prefacing consumables such as “coffee”. But, as when it renders “gratification” immediate, “instant’ is not always a bad thing.Just so here. In the pic, instant Japanese miso soup in Chinese mugs. How’s that for cultural fusion? Ideal for when you can’t face a full-on English breakfast but fancy a savoury hit.
Miso soup is usually found as an accompaniment to Japanese meals. It is light and comes in a variety of forms, always containing healthy seaweed.
The mug on the left contains Tofu Miso Soup, containing red and white miso soybean paste and tiny tofu chunks, and is made by adding hot water to the dehydrated ingredients. It also contains seaweed, green onion, kelp, bonito (fish) and, sadly, monosodium glutamate (MSG a sodium salt originally made from healthy seaweed but not healthy itself). Powdered kelp and bonito make up the traditional dashi stock when you add hot water.
The other miso soup comes in a fancier double sachet, with the miso in the form of a paste rather than dehydrated, and also contains spring onion, wakame seaweed and, ahem, “flavourings”.
The ingredients aren’t held in suspension so you need a spoon to get to the bits at the bottom
BTW, the mugs can be found for around £3 in Chinese supermarkets. They come with matching lids to keep your drink hot — ingenious but simple. I particularly like the blue and white rice-grain one on the left as it is thinner porcelain and doesn’t draw out the heat like lots of china. Similar to bone china, but not as delicate or expensive, this property means that you get a good cuppa tea even with a tea-bag. (Make mine a Picard Special: Tea! Earl Grey! Hot!)
(Brought over from WordPress)
