A bowl of piping hot Daikon and Fried Tofu Miso Soup is a simple mix of comfort, nutrition, and deliciousness! In this one-pot recipe, I use a convenient dashi packet for an easy and quick way to make a flavorful Japanese soup stock. {Vegan Adaptable}
Do you regularly make miso soup at home? If you enjoy the soup but wish to try out new variations, you’ll be happy to know that there are more than one or two ways to make it. In fact, you’ll find endless renditions of miso soups in Japan, very often incorporating seasonal ingredients.
Since daikon is in season right now, let’s make Daikon and Fried Tofu Miso Soup! This recipe is a delicious example of utilizing the winter root vegetable in our daily soup while it’s at its sweetest.
Exciting news: I recently learned that the 30th of every month is Miso Day (味噌の日). So, I decided that I’ll start sharing a different miso soup recipe every 30th of the month and keep them in the JOC Miso Soup Recipes collection. I hope it will inspire you to enjoy miso soup, if not every day, at least every 30th of the month.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A wonderful combination of textures! You’ll enjoy the sweetness and juiciness of in-season daikon radishes in the miso soup, and the addition of a fried tofu pouch gives another layer of texture.
- A great way to use up daikon, especially if you’ve bought a whole one.
- Eat daikon and stay healthy! Daikon is rich in potassium and vitamin C. Vitamin C helps promote wound healing, produces collagen, and stabilizes blood sugar levels. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that may protect cells from free radicals. Just these reasons alone are convincing enough for us to cook more with daikon! You can learn more about its benefits here.
What is Daikon?
The large white daikon radish is an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine and is used in various dishes. We pickle it, cook it with fish and meat, and even enjoy it raw for freshness. It has a delightful crunchy texture and can soak up broths and flavors in braises and soups.
Daikon is available all year round, but it is best during autumn and winter when you can get a juicy and sweet daikon.
Best Daikon Part
Did you know that daikon tastes different depending on the part of the daikon you use? The top green part of the daikon tends to be sweeter while the tip of the daikon always tastes bitter. Japanese supermarkets sell precut daikon so you can buy just the green part.
If you’re eating raw daikon like in Daikon Salad, or using grated daikon for Agedashi Tofu, make sure to use the top green part.
I had a green part saved in the fridge, so I used it for this miso soup, highlighting the seasonal freshness and juiciness of daikon.
Ingredients for This Recipe
- Dashi (Japanese soup stock) — In this recipe, I’ll share how I make dashi using a dashi packet – it’s easy and quick! I talk about other methods below.
- Daikon radish
- Aburaage (Deep-Fried Tofu Pouch) — You can use any type of tofu, but I highly recommend using deep-fried tofu or fried tofu puffs. Fried food adds rich flavor, depth, and complexity to the flavor of a dish.
- Miso — You can use any miso. I used organic barley miso from Hikari Miso in this recipe.
- Green onion (scallion)
How to Make Daikon and Fried Tofu Miso Soup
- Cut the daikon into short sticks, aburaage into short strips, and green onions into thin rounds.
- Cook the daikon in dashi (Japanese soup stock) until tender, about 20 minutes. If you are using a dashi packet, cook the daikon and dashi packet together. Remove the packet after 5 minutes of simmering.
- Once the daikon is done cooking, add aburaage and cook for another minute.
- Add the miso and let it dissolve completely.
- Serve the miso soup and sprinkle the chopped green onions on top.
3 Ways to Make Dashi
Dashi is a Japanese soup stock, and many of you are already familiar with dashi-making methods. Just in case you’re new to making dashi, here are 3 ways to make dashi.
- Homemade dashi — You can make a basic Awase Dashi by steeping kombu (edible kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) in water. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, make Vegan Dashi with kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Dashi packet — The dashi packet is the best shortcut method that I use often. Similar to making tea, you steep the dashi packet in water and cook for a couple of minutes. Despite its quick method, the flavor of dashi is pretty good.
- Dashi powder — Dashi powder is my least favorite method due to its lack of flavor, but you can make a quick dashi with just dashi powder and hot water.
If you want to learn more about dashi, check out The Ultimate Dashi Guide, where I talk about 6 different types of dashi and the above 3 methods in detail.
What to Serve with This Miso Soup
- Rice: Hijiki Rice, Brown Rice, Mushroom Rice
- Main: Yellowtail Teriyaki, Ginger Pork, Simmered Beef with Ginger
- Sides: Kinpira Gobo, Simmered Kabocha, Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Eggs
More Daikon Recipes
- 16 Delicious Daikon Recipes
- All About Daikon (pantry page)
- Daikon Leaves Furikake – Did your daikon come with green leaves on top? Make this delicious seasoning!
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Daikon and Fried Tofu Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 1 inch daikon radish (3.5 oz, 100 g; use the top green section near the leaves for a sweeter flavor)
- 3 cups water (for the dashi; you can substitute Awase Dashi or Vegan Dashi and skip the dashi packet)
- 1 dashi packet (in a pinch, you can use dashi powder; skip for vegan/vegetarian)
- 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) (¾ oz, 20 g)
- 3 Tbsp miso (any type; plus more, to taste)
For the Garnish
- 1 green onion/scallion
Instructions
- Before we start… You can use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi. Here, I use a dashi packet.
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Peel 1 inch daikon radish. Slice the daikon into rounds about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
- Stack the sliced rounds, then cut down the middle to make half moons. Rotate the stack 90 degrees, then slice ¼ inch (6 mm) thick to make short sticks.
- In a saucepan, put 3 cups water and 1 dashi packet. Add the daikon sticks and bring it to a boil, uncovered, over medium heat.
- Meanwhile, cut 1 piece aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch) in half lengthwise. Then, slice it crosswise into ¼-inch (6-mm) strips. Tip: If you like to remove excess oil from the tofu pouch, you can either pour boiling water over the tofu pouch in a sieve over the sink or quickly blanch in boiling water in a small pot for 15 seconds (flipping 1–2 times).
- Cut 1 green onion/scallion crosswise into thin rounds. Set aside for garnish.
- Once the soup is boiling, shake the dashi packet to release more flavor. Lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, until the daikon is cooked through, about 15–20 minutes. After 4–5 minutes of boiling the dashi packet, discard the dashi packet.
- After 15 minutes of cooking, check if the daikon is cooked through by inserting a skewer or fork. When the daikon is tender, add the aburaage and cook for a minute or two.
- Turn off the heat and add 3 Tbsp miso. Taste the soup and add more miso if needed. If it‘s too salty, add water or dashi (if you have any) to dilute.
To Serve
- Serve the hot miso soup in individual bowls. Garnish with the chopped green onions. Enjoy!
To Store
- It‘s best to consume miso soup right away because the miso loses its aroma and taste as time passes. Let the soup cool to room temperature (up to 4 hours; any longer and it will spoil) and then refrigerate for up to 2 days. Alternatively, you could refrigerate the soup without adding the miso. When ready to use, add the miso only for the portion you will consume. You can freeze miso soup for up to 2 weeks.
This is my wife Misa’s default miso soup — but she also often adds carrot and / or potato and / or taro and / or tofu … you get the idea. She also likes playing around with the miso … we always have at least a few different kinds in the fridge, and she’ll pick and choose and adjust (after tasting) as inspiration moves her.
I’ve yet to have better miso soup than what she makes — and the only ones as good were in her best friend’s home in Tokyo and a ryokan in Kyoto. Nowhere else in the States has even come close.
Of course, I haven’t had a chance to taste Nami’s …
b&
Hi, Ben! Thank you for reading Nami’s post.
It sounds like your wife makes excellent miso soup. You’re really lucky! We hope Nami’s is just as good as hers. Happy cooking! 😊
oooh! I just finished making this now! It tastes so yummy and is super easy to make! My boyfriend loved this soup 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!
Hi, Nicki! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are happy to hear that you guys enjoyed the miso soup.
It’s simple, but sometimes the most basic flavors are the greatest! Happy cooking!😊