This popular soup contains both miso and dashi, a stock made with bonito flakes and seaweed.

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 cups dashi
• 2 tablespoons of brown miso paste, more to taste
• 2 tablespoons white miso paste, more to taste
• 6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 scallions, white and green, thinly sliced diagonally
• 2 tablespoons aji mirin, optional

DASHI

• 6 cups of cold water
• One 12-inch long piece of kombu wiped with a damp cloth
• One 25-gram package of shaved dried bonito flakes

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, heat the dashi and whisk in the miso paste. Bring to a simmer and add tofu, scallions, and mirin, if using. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
2. To make the Dashi, combine the water and kombu in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Remove the kombu and discard.
3. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the bonito flakes, and immediately remove the pan from the heat.
4. Allow it to sit undisturbed for 2 minutes.
5. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl.
6. Discard the bonito flakes.
7. Use soup immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.