Miso-Dama: Instant Miso Soup Balls
Miso, dashi, wakame and spring onion rolled into bite-size balls that turn into miso soup in one minute with hot water, a meal-prep hit in Japan.
Method
Put the miso, dashi granules and katsuobushi in a bowl and mix with a spoon into an even paste. Rub the katsuobushi between your fingers first so it blends in and doesn't catch in your throat in the soup.
Add in this stepmiso (awase or white) 2 tbspinstant dashi granules 1 tspkatsuobushi (bonito flakes), crumbled 2 g
Cut cling film into 15 cm squares, one per serving, and spoon about 1 tbsp of the miso mixture into the centre of each. Top with the wakame (snip large pieces smaller with scissors), spring onion, sesame and aonori, then gather the corners and twist into a ball. Your hands stay clean.
Add in this stepdried cut wakame 2 gspring onion, finely sliced 2 tsptoasted sesame seeds 1 tspaonori (green seaweed flakes) 1 pinch
Chill in the fridge for to firm up. They keep 1 week in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer, and frozen ones can be used straight away without thawing.
To serve, bring the water to a boil in a 14 cm pot on high heat for , switch off and let it stand about 1 minute to cool slightly. Just-off-the-boil water keeps more of the miso's aroma than fiercely boiling water.
Add in this stepwater, to serve 360 ml
high heatUnwrap one miso ball into each bowl or mug and pour over the hot water. Wait for the wakame to swell, then stir with chopsticks until fully dissolved and drink.
Cook's tip
Add small tofu cubes or sliced fried tofu just before pouring for a more filling cup. Try mixing in some red miso, or a pinch of shichimi or ground ginger. Spring onion loses a little aroma in the freezer, so be generous.
Cooking it at camp
The easiest soup for camping: make them at home, pack them still wrapped in a sealed tub in the cooler, and at camp you only boil water. Hot water from a hiking flask works too.