Japanese cuisine is all about using fresh—and often, simple—ingredients when you prepare food. One of the best examples of this is miso soup. It doesn’t need more than miso, vegetables, and hot water. Some add prawns and mushrooms to the soup. Some add kelp or seaweed to bring out the umami in the broth. There are so many ways to prepare this well-loved dish. Here’s why it’s good for you.
It’s Healthy
The central ingredient in the soup is miso, which is made from fermented soybean paste. The soup has a lot of minerals, antioxidants, and nutrients. If you have miso soup every day, it helps improve your digestion and energize your body. It packs along zinc, B complex vitamins, fibre, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and protein. It’s also low in calories and comes with probiotics that help treat a number of health issues.
It’s Easy to Prepare
It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to prepare miso soup, especially if you’ve got the process down pat. If this is your first time making it, no worries. You’ll get used to it, sooner or later. And when you do, you’ll find yourself making this in minutes. Whether it’s a chili miso soup, or a prawn miso soup, have tons of fun learning to put your own touches on the dish.
It Has Vegetables
And because people often add vegetables to their miso soup, you can customize yours and add a ton to your soup, as well. That’s one way to increase your intake of healthy, green leafy vegetables. If you don’t want anything heavy, especially in the morning, then always pair up your breakfast with a bowl of miso soup.
It Has Different Types
You can pick from three different types of miso.
- Shiro miso or white miso. It’s light in flavour. It tastes slightly sweet and salty and has a creamy texture. You can use it in a soup or add it to your salad dressings and marinades for your fish and chicken.
- Shinsu miso or yellow miso. This also has a light flavour. However, it has a darker colour, is slightly more acidic, and is often fermented longer.
- Aka miso or dark miso. This is reddish brown and is less sweet than the other two types of miso. It’s saltier and can be bitter, so it’s best paired with heavy and hearty soups like stews.
It’s Good for Your Heart
Regular consumption of miso soup is also good for your heart. It cuts down on the risk of cardiovascular diseases and mortality in women. If you love miso soup, then hearing about all its health benefits gives you even more reasons to add miso soup to your daily meals.
It’s Warm
Who doesn’t love a bowl of warm miso soup on a chilly morning? One way to wake up your system is to drink hot water in the morning an hour or so before you eat. That helps with digestion. Having miso soup also helps because it warms you up from the inside. It’s also light enough, so it’s gentle on your stomach.
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