Does Miso Soup Have Fish? A Look at This Common Japanese Soup

This vegan miso soup is a twist on a beloved Japanese recipe. An easy, 30-minute soup that recreates the amazing umami broth that everyone knows and loves. Serve this delicious soup as a starter or side with any meal!.

Miso soup is a staple of Japanese cuisine, known for its salty, umami flavor. But with its murky brown broth, you may be wondering – does miso soup have fish?

The short answer is: traditionally, yes. Authentic miso soup is made with dashi, a fish-based Japanese broth. However, there are also alternatives for making vegan/vegetarian miso soup without fish.

Below, we’ll take a deeper look at miso soup and whether or not it contains fish.

Traditional Miso Soup Contains Fish

In Japan, miso soup is traditionally prepared with dashi, an umami-rich broth made from fish

Specifically, there are two main types of dashi used for miso soup:

Katsuobushi dashi – made from dried fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna (katsuobushi). The katsuobushi is shaved into flakes and infused into the broth.
Niboshi dashi – made from dried baby sardines (niboshi). The niboshi are boiled in water to extract their flavor.

So in its traditional form using dashi, miso soup does contain fish ingredients. Some non-vegetarian miso soups are even made using a chicken stock base instead of dashi.

The other primary ingredient in miso soup is miso paste. Miso is made by fermenting soybeans so it’s 100% vegan. But the dashi is what makes miso soup non-vegan.

Vegan Versions Use Seaweed and Mushrooms

The good news is, you can still get that delicious umami flavor without using fish. There are a few easy substitutions to make vegan miso soup:

Kombu – This dried seaweed makes a vegan “dashi” base. Kombu is simmered in water to release its savory umami components.
Shiitake mushrooms – Like kombu, shiitakes contain natural umami compounds like guanylate. Dried shiitakes make the perfect dashi replacement.
Vegetable broth – A store-bought or homemade vegetable broth can also substitute for dashi in vegan miso.

By combining kombu, shiitakes, miso paste, and vegetable broth, you can make an authentic tasting vegan miso soup. It captures the rich, savory flavors without using bonito or sardines.

Other vegan miso soup ingredients can include tofu, scallions, snap peas, carrots, soba noodles, and more. The possibilities are endless for customized vegan miso that skips the fish.

Summing It Up: Traditionally Contains Fish, But Vegan Versions Are Common

Authentic Japanese miso soup is made using dashi, a fish-based broth made from tuna or sardines. So traditionally, yes it contains fish.
However, there are many easy vegan substitutions for dashi such as kombu, dried shiitakes, and vegetable broth.
By using these umami-rich replacements, you can make delicious vegan miso soup without any fish products.
Both meat eaters and vegans alike enjoy the salty, savory flavor of miso. Fish is traditional but not a necessity.

So while the original Japanese recipe calls for bonito or niboshi, miso soup can certainly be made vegan-friendly. With just a few simple ingredient swaps, anyone can enjoy this comforting soup!

does miso soup have fish

What is Miso Soup

Traditional miso soup is popular in Japanese cuisine and is generally very easy to make. This dish is often served at sushi and Japanese restaurants. It usually comes from a packet mix that looks a lot like instant noodle soups, and the broth is usually made with fish, which isn’t vegan.

To make miso soup vegan, the broth is the main thing that needs to be replaced. I use a base of leeks, dried shiitake mushrooms, carrots, onions for sweetness, and scallions for a nice smell to get the same umami flavor from plants.

Adding different kinds of dried seaweed, like hijiki and wakame seaweed, and different kinds of tofu, like fried tofu puffs and ofu (a Japanese ingredient), can make a soup your own. You can also add tempura pieces, mushrooms, cabbage, and more.

What Makes This Recipe Great

There are a few different kinds of miso, but red and white miso are the main ones used in miso soup. I like to use a combination of both because miso paste varies in flavour profile. The red miso is bolder, umami, and deeper in flavor. The white miso paste is a little bit sweeter, mellow, and mild.

Together, I feel like it provides the perfect balance of richness and sweetness. Garnish this vegan miso soup recipe with scallions and Ichimi togarashi, which is red Japanese chili powder. You can customize it as you see fit.

I recommend serving the soup with fresh, short-grain white rice. This recipe takes under 30 minutes and is a delicious starter or side to any meal!.

You can find all of these ingredients at most grocery stores these days, but if you’re having trouble, check out your local Asian market or Asian grocery store first.

Filtered Water
Shrooms called shiitake
Veggies: Leek, carrot, scallions, & yellow onion.
Dried Wakame: I’ve written out how to rehydrate the wakame for this vegan miso soup below.
Miso paste red
If you want to make tofu, you can use any kind you like, but firm silken tofu is my favorite because it has the best texture for soup.
Garnish: Scallions (green onions), ichimi togarashi, and cooked mushrooms.

Put water in the pot you’ll be cooking in first, then add the dried mushrooms and kombu. Spend 15 to 30 minutes letting it soak. The longer you soak, the more flavor will come out.
First bring the pot to a boil. Then turn it down to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
For another 10 minutes, add the scallion stems, leek, carrots, onion, and onion.
Put the tofu in the pot and then turn off the heat.

Put enough hot water to cover the dried wakame in a small bowl. Soak the wakame until it feels soft. Then, drain it and set it aside.

In a small bowl or jar, mix white and red miso with a little water. It needs just the right amount of water to become a paste. Break up the paste with a whisk or chopsticks so it can be poured. This helps to eliminate clumps later on.
Mix the wakame with the miso liquid that has been whisked and add it to the pot. Adjust to taste, making sure you’ve used enough miso.
Garnish with green scallion tops and ichimi togarashi if desired.

That being said, the longer you let the kelp and mushrooms soak and the longer you let the vegetables simmer, the better the broth will taste. You can also add vegetable broth or a veggie bullion paste to make the soup taste even better.
There is a very important step to take when adding the miso paste to the soup: do it away from the heat. It’s important to add miso at the very end because it has a delicate flavor and is full of probiotics that can’t live in very high heat.
When I was a kid, my mom would put in a small amount of miso paste, then use chopsticks to add a small amount of soup water to the ladle. She would then slowly mix the paste into the soup.

Fresh short-grain white rice goes well with this vegan miso soup as a starter or side dish for any meal.

Keep leftovers for up to three days in a container that won’t let air in. Reheat over the stovetop and serve with garnish.

Miso soup isn’t vegan because it is often made with a dashi-based broth, which is fish based.

This vegan broth is a dashi broth made with dried shiitake mushrooms, leeks, carrots, onions for flavor, and scallions for aroma. It gives the soup an amazing umami flavor, similar to regular dashi.

Miso soup | 5 MISTAKES to avoid when making miso soup (with recipe)

Does miso soup have fish?

While miso soup doesn’t have fish directly in it, it does use primarily fish-derived ingredients, which are the main tastemakers of the soup. But here’s the catch! Just because most of the traditional recipes use fish or non-vegan stock, doesn’t mean you have to! Can you make miso soup without fish?

Is it good to have miso soup?

Miso is a fermented product that contains probiotics. Thus, consuming miso soup might improve your gut/ digestive health. Being low in calories, the soup might also contribute to weight loss and weight management. It is packed with antioxidants like copper, zinc, manganese, and vitamins like vitamin K, and B vitamins. This in turn might play a role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and chronic conditions like cancer. Note: A bowl of miso soup can give you around 830mg of sodium that is roughly 33-35% of RDI. You can go for low-sodium miso while preparing the soup, especially if you are on a low-sodium diet.

Can you make miso soup without fish?

Miso soup is incomplete without fish or fish-derived ingredients if you want a completely authentic experience. However, it does not mean you cannot make it without fish.

What does miso soup taste like?

Miso soup has an umami flavor, thanks to the glutamic acid from the koji used to make miso paste. Umami, which roughly translates from Japanese to mean “good flavor” or “savoriness”—creates pleasing meaty, earthy, and savory notes. Depending on the type of miso paste used in the soup, the umami flavor may be delicate or more pungent.