How I Developed This Salmon Miso Soup
Up until now, I’ve made hearty miso soup with proteins such as chicken and pork.
When I had the idea of making miso soup with salmon, I thought of a kind of soup you’d want to have on a cold day in the fall or winter. This inspired me to use seasonal produce such as mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes.
It turned out to be really easy to make and became a filling miso soup that could be served as a hearty side or on its own as a comforting lunch. I’d love for you to give it a try!
Key Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Salmon Fillets: Just choose the fresh salmon you like best. My recipe recommends 2 medium fillets for 4 portions, but you can change the amount depending on your preference. The picture above shows 4 mini fillets which are not common to find, and are equal in size to about 2 medium fillets.
- Dashi Stock: If you want to get the most authentic taste, I recommend making your own dashi. If you’re short on time, though, high-quality dashi packets are a great alternative. While dashi granules are convenient, they can also add unnecessary extra flavors that might affect the soup’s delicate balance. In my opinion, dashi packets are the best way to go.
- Miso Paste: I recommend using awase miso (also known as “yellow miso” in English), which is a really versatile blend that works perfectly in this soup. For more info on miso varieties and selection tips, check out my comprehensive “Miso 101” article on the blog!
- Vegetables: Start with a hearty base of potatoes, carrots, shimeji mushrooms (or whatever mushrooms you can get locally), and snow peas. This soup is flexible, so feel free to experiment with your favorite vegetables to make it uniquely yours!
- Toppings: I added a small cube of butter for richness and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper for a subtle kick.
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Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsVisual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Salmon Miso Soup at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
This section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cooking steps and techniques with visuals. It also includes more in-depth tips and tricks and explains why I do what I do.
Cut the carrots and potatoes into bite-sized chunks.
Give the potatoes a five-minute soak in cold water to get rid of any excess starch.
Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon fillets with a little salt and fry them until they’re nicely browned on both sides, which should take about 3 minutes per side.
Once cooked, set aside for later.
Put the drained potatoes and carrots in a microwave-safe bowl with a tablespoon of water. Microwave on high (600W) for about three minutes to partially cook them.
This step is to save time. If you don’t have a microwave, you can parboil the vegetables in a pot of boiling water or use a steamer to steam them instead.
In a large pot, mix together the dashi stock, the parboiled carrots and potatoes, and the mushrooms.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat.
As soon as you turn off the heat, just mix in your miso paste.
If you just drop the miso paste straight into the pot, you’ll end up with a lumpy soup that doesn’t taste quite right. For the best results, put the miso on a mesh spoon or ladle, dip it in the broth, and whisk before adding it to the soup. If you don’t have these tools, just whisk the miso paste and a little broth in a small bowl to loosen it before pouring it into the pot.
If you’re using snow peas, just blanch them separately in boiling water for about a minute.
If you’re looking for a quicker option, you can just add the raw snow peas directly to the soup with the other vegetables. While blanching makes for a nicer presentation and texture, both methods are great for getting a tasty result.
Split the soup between the serving bowls. Now, add the seared salmon fillets and blanched snow peas. Top each bowl with a little bit of butter and a dash of freshly ground black pepper.
Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsI hope you enjoy this Salmon Miso Soup recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Miso Soup Recipes
Salmon Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes
- ½ carrot
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- salt
- 2 salmon fillets or double the number of mini fillets
- 1 tbsp water
- 500 ml dashi stock
- 100 g shimeji mushrooms
- 10 snow peas
- 2 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase miso)
- butter
- ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel 2 potatoes and ½ carrot and cut them into bitesize pieces.
- Soak the potatoes in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to remove excess starch.
- In the meantime, heat a frying pan over medium and add 1 tsp cooking oil. Sprinkle 2 salmon fillets (or double the amount of mini fillets) with salt on both sides, then place skin-side down and fry until nicely browned (approx 3 minutes on each side), then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water. Place them in a heatproof bowl along with the carrots and add 1 tbsp water. Microwave at 600W for about 3 minutes as a shortcut for parboiling. (Alternatively, boil or steam until parboiled.)
- Pour 500 ml dashi stock into a large pot, add the parboiled potatoes, carrots and 100 g shimeji mushrooms, and bring to a boil.
- Boil a small separate pot of water and blanch 10 snow peas for 1 minute – this is for presentation so you can sprinkle them on top at the end. Alternatively, you can add the snow peas directly to the pot of dashi in the final minute of cooking.
- Drain the snow peas and set aside. Once the potato and carrots are cooked to your liking, turn off the heat. Place 2 tbsp yellow miso paste (awase miso) on a mesh spoon or ladle and dip it into the broth, whisking to incorporate it into the dashi and break any lumps.
- Divide the soup into serving bowls and place half a salmon fillet (or whole mini fillet), 5 snow peas and a small square of butter on top of each serving. Sprinkle with ground black pepper to taste. Enjoy!
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