Papurika no surinagashi / miso soup with red bell pepper

Tom's favorite vegetable, red bell pepper, is transformed into a sweet, slightly sour miso soup. Hakusai napa cabbage and cauliflower along with tonyu soy milk soften the overall taste.

1/2 of recipe:
81 calories; 5.4 g protein; 1.8 g fat; 12.5 g carbohydrate; 9.4 g net carbs; 228 mg sodium (with reduced-sodium miso; 288 mg with regular miso); 0 mg cholesterol; 3.1 g fiber


<Ingredients>

1 red bell pepper (200 g in photo)
2-3 small hakusai napa cabbage leaves (white sections only; 50 g in photo)
Small handful cauliflower (60 g in photo)
160 cc dashi
6 tbsp (90 cc) additive-free tonyu soy milk (see Notes)
2 tsp miso
1/2 tsp yogurt
Tiny amount of green onion (for garnish)


<Directions>
1.

Roast bell pepper until skin blackens.

When done, wrap with paper and let sit.

2.

Meantime, chop hakusai and cauliflower into smaller pieces.
Thinly slice green onion.

3.

In a pot, put dashi, and bring to boil. When boiling, put hakusai and cauliflower, cover, and simmer until tender for 5+ minutes.

4.

Take some dashi, and soften miso and yogurt.

5.

When bell pepper cools enough to handle, peel off skin, and remove seeds.

Tear or cut into smaller pieces.

Add to hakusai and cauliflower, cover, and simmer for a few minutes.

6.

Puree.

7.

Add soy milk, mix well, and bring to almost boiling.

8.

Add miso + yogurt mixture, and heat through for 1 minute, without letting the soup boil.

9.

Serve in individual bowls, and garnish with sliced green onion.

<Notes>

• Select a smallish bell pepper (around 180 g; 200 g above is maximum) if you want to use a whole pepper for this recipe. Or use part of a larger roasted bell pepper, and use or save the rest for another dish.
• The white, inner sections of hakusai leaves are sweeter. This is a great recipe to use up white sections (and very pale leafy parts).
• Hakusai adds a mellow sweet note, while cauliflower imparts a gentle sweetness and very mild potato-like texture due to its relatively starchy nature. Using only one -- hakusai or cauliflower – also works.
• If soy milk is not available, you can use tofu. Milk would probably work, although I've never tried it. 
• The soy milk I use is made with soybeans and water only, and the above amount contains below 2 mg sodium. Store-bought soy milk in the US usually contains salt and sugar (and flavors, even when labeled as "plain"), and its sodium content averages around 100 mg per 240 cc (about 35-40 mg per 6 tbsp). Additive-free soy milk probably is available at Asian grocery stores in the US. In Japan, look for soy milk that says 成分無調整 [lit. ingredients not adjusted], which implies soybeans and water are the only ingredients and there are no additives such as sweetener and oil.   

(Last updated: June 29, 2015)