Healthy Miso Soup Vegan Recipe (Basics for Beginners) | Purple Avocado (2024)

FAQs

How to make miso soup without killing probiotics? ›

Avoid high heat when cooking with it, as it will kill off the good bacteria. When making miso soup, turn off the heat and dissolve (using a muddler like this will help avoid clumps). Rather than making a big batch of miso soup and repeatedly reheating the pot, prepare it for each meal.

It depends on how much and which kind of miso paste is used to make the soup. If you buy packaged miso soup, compare and read labels to see how much sodium is in a single serving. Eating too much sodium can raise your risk of health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

Because the most common recipes for miso soup contain fish, miso soup isn't generally considered vegan. There are, however, vegan versions available both in restaurants and for purchase in stores.

Hikari Miso, Organic Miso Mild Sodium Miso

This product is even healthier than others as it has less sodium. It is also the traditional Shinshu-style made from organic rice and soybeans, and has a yellow color. The high koji ratio creates a mild and sweet taste.

It's rich in gut-healthy probiotics

The fact that miso is a fermented food probably tipped you off to this one: it's one of the tastiest fermented foods for gut health. "One reason fermented foods like miso benefit the gut because is because they contain probiotics," Ingraham says.

Adding it to boiling water will kill the probiotics in the miso, nixing the health benefits it typically offers, like better digestive health. Wait until the soup has been taken off the heat and then stir or whisk in miso to taste. The paste-like texture will melt into the soup thanks to the residual heat of the stock.

Miso is a probiotic food, also known as beneficial bacteria, and may improve blood pressure control. This mineral helps to relax the walls of our blood vessels, which helps to lower blood pressure and prevent muscle cramping.

Miso soup is low calorie, low fat, and high in nutrient content, so it is safe to eat daily. However, it does have a high salt content. So, those on blood thinning medication or who have heart problems (including high blood pressure and heart disease) may want to limit their consumption of miso soup.

The base of any great miso soup is its liquid component. In lieu of dashi, a homemade vegetable broth can be used. Not only does this serve as a dashi substitute, but it also adds a layer of flavor complexity while keeping the dish plant-based and accessible to those on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

What is a vegan substitute for miso? ›

Soy Sauce/ Aminos

Soy sauce is the most common substitute for miso paste. Miso is thick and creamy, whereas soy sauce is thin like water, but if texture isn't a factor, they are both made of soy and chock full of salty and savory notes.

Silken tofu – I like to use extra-firm tofu when I'm baking tofu, but in this miso soup recipe, silken tofu is a must. With its super-smooth texture, it practically melts into the savory soup.

Choose the best miso

Yellow or shinsu miso is an all-purpose miso that has a slightly deeper flavour than shiro because it is fermented longer. Red/brown or aka miso is richer and darker than the others and works well in soups and stews, but too much can spoil the flavour.

“Traditionally, rice miso is more expensive than barley miso, because the grain is more expensive,” explains Chung. Accordingly, wealthier merchants could afford to purchase more expensive miso made with rice, whereas farmers and townsfolk often ate miso made with millet, barley, or other common grains.

The consumption of miso has also been reported to exert health effects, such as fat suppression [9], anti-inflammation [10] and stroke prevention [11].

Boiling miso can harm the probiotic bacteria. At temperatures above 115 degrees Fahrenheit these delicate bacteria are destroyed. We recommend adding miso paste to soups just prior to serving.

Avoid Boiling Miso

Instead, try adding miso to soups and stews at the end of the cooking process, once the heat has been turned off. This will help preserve the probiotics while still allowing you to enjoy the rich, savory flavor of miso in your dishes.

As a general rule, when probiotic cultures are subjected to temperatures of 120 degrees F and above they start to die off [1]. It's the reason fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso, marketed as containing “live” beneficial bacteria, can't be exposed to high heat during the cooking process.

There's a misconception that boiling miso soup will kill probiotics. However, probiotics are destroyed when the temperature of miso soup is above 140°F (60°C). Rather, the warning for not boiling miso soup is to preserve its flavor and aroma. The Japanese don't treat miso soup as merely a source of probiotics.