Seaweed miso vegetable soup

When I learned that Koreans eat seaweed soup for breakfast, I became curious and asked my Korean friends for pointers to the proper way of making it. It turned out to be a delicious yet really simple dish that serves as a nice platform for variations. We combined the recipe with miso soup and now eat this as a super healthy yet tasty comfort food.

Ingredients for 2-3 people:

• A large pinch of dried seaweed, Korean miyeok or Japanese wakame.
• A few garlic cloves, minced. I typically use 3-5.
• 1 TBS miso paste (do not go too heavy on miso, it will overpower eveything else)
• Tofu, cubed to 1/2 inch. A few TBS.
• 1-2 cups of vegetables, e.g. sliced cabbage, small cubes of butternut squash, chopped carrots, cubed turnips... Make sure that any root vegetables or squash are cut into 1/4 inch pieces to cook quickly.
• 1-2 TBS oil, I prefer extra virgin olive
• Dashi or water - about 500-750ml
• Seasoning: a subset of 1 TBS soy sauce, 1 TBS sesame oil

Method:

1. Soak seaweed in cold water for 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain the water, rinse the seaweed (optional), and gently squeeze out the liquid.
3. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot on a medium heat.
4. Add the minced garlic, cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. Add the drained seaweed, cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the dashi, vegetables, and miso paste. Stir well.
7. Add the tofu, gently stir it in.
8. Bring the soup to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables and the seaweed are cooked.
1. Note: Cutting all the vegetables into small pieces helps with cooking time, and assures all the vegetables are cooked at the same time.
9. Turn the heat off.
10. Optionally: Season with sesame oil and soy sauce. I like to add those to the plate.
11. Yum!

Note: Sometimes we ladle the soup into our bowls over leftover grains (quinoa works really well) and cooked beans, or we add a bit of potato in the soup - and make a meal of it. Not traditional at all, but it completes the nutrients and fiber in the meal.