Clam Miso Soup

Hi~~~~~, So, it’s been almost a month since I’ve moved to Matsumoto city. There are so many beautiful places to see, activities to do, and delicious food to eat!. Speaking of food, since I’ve been here, I’ve had to cook a lot of homemade dinners, on weekdays.

All thanks to my dad in the states for teaching me, and my sweet, little mother in law. During my time living with her, I’ve learned so many homemade Japanese dishes. One was miso soup.

Back in the states, I normally buy those instant package miso soup, which is not cheap by the way. But, ever since I learned how to make it at home, it is SO MUCH BETTER! and the combinations of veggies/and tofu (mainly), are endless. Every family has their own unique little taste. I hope this helps you find yours.

One important thing to remember when making this soup is, main ingredients should not exceed over 2 or 3 ingredients used. The soup is meant to be light since they are a side dish. In this recipe, the ingredients were spinaches, clams, and enoki mushrooms. It is super quick, easy, healthy, and delicious so, do give this recipe a try!.

Note:
DASHI: I’ve seen dashi that you can get in liquid form. There are dry ones which you would have to mix it with water yourself. Those are ones I always use. You don’t have to mix it with water or anything, though and use it as is.
SAKE: I prefer regular drinking sake. But, cooking sake is fine, also.

Clam Miso Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 large bunch of Spinach
• 1 bunch Enoki mushrooms (optional, amount as prefer)
• 250-300g                            Clams (any kind will do except, mussels)
• 2 cups  (400ml)                  Water
• 15.5ml/cc (1 1/2 Tbsp)      Miso Paste
• 2.5ml/cc (1/2 tsp)              Dashi
• 7.5ml/cc (1/2 Tbsp)           Sake

Directions:

1. Clean and chop spinaches into 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches, in length. When you’re done, do not mix the stems with the leaves. Set them apart from each other and, set aside for later.
2. Clean and cut the enoki mushrooms in half, and pull apart the bottom portion into smaller bunches. Set them aside.
3. (If you’re in a hurry, you can skip this step. But, by doing so will bring a little more flavor out of them!)
   In a medium-size pot, fry the clams (oil not needed) for a couple seconds under medium heat, WITH the lid on, just until they start to slightly open up.
4. Remove the lid, and add your sake, and gently mix.
5. Quickly, pour in the water into the pot, and lower the heat between low-medium.
6. Let the pot boil for 10 minutes, or until all clams are cooked and the shell opened up completely.
   
7. Add the dashi into the pot, and stir.
8. Put the miso paste into a small strainer, then place the strainer in the pot. You can use a spoon to mash the paste around until you are left with the leftover little chunky bits. Remove the strainer from the pot, and discard the leftover paste.
   
9. Mix the enoki mushrooms, and the stems into the pot. Turn the heat up to the medium setting, and let the pot simmer for 3-4 minutes (to soften the mushroom and the stems).
10. Add in the leaves, and gently mix everything together. Leave the heat on for a minute or so, before turning off the stove.
11. Let the pot sit for 1-2 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!