Koyadofu to warabi no misoshiru / miso soup with freeze-dried tofu and bracken

Spongy rehydrated freeze-dried tofu absorbs the delicious flavor medley of the soup, which is released into your mouth as you bite or chew pieces of koyadofu. Its resilient texture contrasts well with succulent warabi bracken. Pale young stems of myoga are sliced for an invigorating garnish for this low-key miso soup.

1/2 of recipe:
64 calories; 5.7 g protein; 3.2 g fat; 2.9 g carbohydrate; 1.9 g net carbs; 250 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 1.0 g fiber; 181 mg potassium


<Ingredients>

1 koyadofu freeze-dried tofu (soaked in water for 30+ minutes to rehydrate, in photo)
Small handful (20-30 g) warabi bracken (25 g prep-boiled in photo)
2-3 young myoga stems (37 g in photo; only white sections toward root are used)

250 cc dashi
1/2 tsp sakekasu sake lees
2 tsp miso  (1 tsp reduced-sodium white miso & 1 tsp red miso in photo)

<Directions>
1.

Squeeze out excess water from koyadofu, and cut into cubes.
Cut warabi into 3-4 cm.
Slice white sections of myoga stems.

2.

In a pot, put dashi and sakekasu, and bring to boil on medium heat.

3.

Meanwhile, take some dashi from pot and loosen miso.

4.

Put koyadofu and warabi, and simmer for a few minutes.

5.

Add miso, and mix well.

6.

Serve in individual bowls, and garnish with myoga stem slices.

<Notes>

• Fresh (prep-boiled) warabi simply needs to be heated through for this recipe, and it can be added at the very end, even after miso paste, if unsure about serving time. Cooking it in seasoned broth for a somewhat long time would make its texture mushy, which is not the case when using dried/salted warabi (after rehydration/desalination, of course).
  
• Myoga stems grown like white asparagus is called myogadake [lit. myoga bamboo shoots]. In home gardens, the sections underground or young shoots above ground are tender and can be used in the same way as myogadake or myoga buds. When green leaves appear, white sections start to lose their invigorating aroma and sharp taste.
• Sakekasu (0 mg sodium) is used above to partially replace miso.
• Koyadofu can be rehydrated in warm water if in hurry. Koyadofu that needs no pre-soaking or small cube shapes are also widely available in Japan.
• The recipe uses a koyadofu brand that contains 1.2 mg sodium and 129 mg potassium per 16.5 g koyadofu (made by Asahimatsu). Potassium carbonate instead of baking soda is used in the production process, and it may not be suitable for those with severe kidney disorders. (Conventionally made koyadofu contains approx. 73 mg sodium and 6 mg potassium per 16.5 g koyadofu).
• The above potassium figure is based on an assumption that 20% of potassium contained in koyadofu is released into water during rehydration.
• Sodium content of miso paste I use above: Reduced-sodium white miso contains 580 mg per tablespoon (18 g); red miso contains 660 mg per tablespoon (18 g).