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!.
With its savory, salty broth and soft cubes of tofu, miso soup is a delicious and comforting starter to any Japanese meal. This traditional soup is full of umami flavor, but does it contain fish? The answer isn’t quite so simple.
While many associate Japanese cuisine with seafood, miso soup isn’t necessarily made with fish. However, its base ingredients usually derive from fish sources. Let’s take a closer look at what goes into this staple soup and fish-free alternatives.
The Role of Dashi in Miso Soup
The foundational ingredient that gives miso soup its rich, aromatic broth is dashi stock. Dashi provides the base that other ingredients like miso paste, tofu, and vegetables are added to.
There are two main types of dashi used in traditional miso soup recipes:
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Katsuobushi dashi – made from dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna flakes called katsuobushi. This is the most common version.
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Niboshi dashi – made from dried sardines or anchovies called niboshi Also frequently used
So while miso soup itself doesn’t contain solid pieces of fish, many versions rely on fish-based dashi stocks. These impart a savory umami depth from the fish extracts during simmering.
However, there are vegetarian dashi alternatives made without any fish products. These create a similar flavor profile using seaweed and mushrooms.
Non-Fish Dashi Options for Vegetarian Miso Soup
If you want to make a vegetarian or vegan miso soup, you can prepare dashi stock using kombu seaweed and dried shiitake mushrooms Here are two popular combinations
Kombu dashi – Simmer kombu seaweed in water then remove before using broth.
Shiitake dashi – Boil dried shiitake mushrooms in water then remove mushrooms
Kombu and shiitake dashi – Simmer kombu and shiitakes together in water then remove. Provides a richer umami depth.
These seaweed and mushroom stocks create the same savory flavor base without using any fish products. The kombu lends minerality and glutamates for an umami punch while the shiitakes provide earthy, aromatic notes.
Many cooks use a combination of kombu and shiitakes to get a well-rounded dashi for miso soup without any fish ingredients.
Vegetarian Miso Soup Ingredients
Once you have your dashi stock prepared, adding other vegetable ingredients results in a nourishing and comforting vegan miso soup. Some tasty additions include:
- Firm tofu, cut into cubes
- Sliced shiitake mushrooms
- Wakame seaweed
- Chopped scallions
- Shredded carrots
- Diced daikon radish
- Soba noodles or udon noodles
- Shelled edamame beans
- Baby spinach or bok choy
The live cultures in miso paste make this a probiotic-rich soup. Combined with mineral-rich seaweed, protein from tofu, and fiber from mushrooms and vegetables, miso soup makes for a well-balanced plant-based meal.
Making Miso Soup with Fish
While vegetarian miso soup is common, the soup certainly can contain fish and seafood in many recipes. Some examples include:
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Dashi made with bonito fish flakes
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Dashi made with dried sardines or anchovies
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Sliced fillets or chunks of whitefish like cod or snapper
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Shrimp, clams, oysters, or mussels
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Shredded or chopped salmon, tuna, mackerel or other oily fish
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Fishballs or fishcake slices
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Dried seafood like kelp, wakame, or nori
So while not all miso soup contains fish ingredients, they are frequently added. This boosts the savory umami flavor and makes the broth heartier and more filling.
Vegan Adaptations Are Simple
Part of miso soup’s popularity comes from how easily adaptable it is. You can stick with the traditional Japanese dashi for an authentic soup. Or you can simply use vegetable or mushroom broth for the base.
The key flavors from miso paste and aromatics remain intact. For an anytime soup that’s vegetarian-friendly, you can:
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Replace dashi with vegetable broth
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Use dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, or seaweed for Asian flavor
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Add firmer tofu, more vegetables, and noodles or grains
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Garnish with chili oil or toasted sesame oil
With these simple modifications, you can enjoy the comforting flavors of miso soup without any fish ingredients. It’s just as satisfying and nourishing adapted for plant-based diets.
Common Questions About Fish in Miso Soup
If you’re new to this Japanese favorite, here are some frequently asked questions about the role of fish:
Is packaged miso soup vegan? – Many instant miso soup mixes contain fish products in the broth powder. Check labels for ingredients.
What’s the broth made of in restaurant miso soup? – Restaurants likely use dashi with bonito or anchovies. Request vegetarian broth if fish-free is needed.
Do you have to use dashi stock? – No, you can use vegetable broth, mushroom broth, or kombu/shiitake stock instead.
Is miso soup considered pescatarian? – Traditionally prepared miso soup is not vegetarian due to the fish-based dashi. Pescatarians can enjoy recipes made with seafood.
Can I use miso paste without dashi? – Yes, you can whisk miso paste into any hot broth, like vegetable or mushroom stock.
Enjoy the Comfort of Miso Soup
In its classic form, miso soup does rely on ingredients derived from fish to create its signature savory, umami-rich broth. But with some simple substitutions, you can make delicious vegetarian and vegan versions.
Experiment with different dashi stocks and vegetable additions to create your own comforting miso soup. This customizable staple is perfect for enjoying hot steaming bowls of Japanese flavor, whether or not you include 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.