Bacon and Corn Miso Soup

Step 1

Gather all the ingredients. Keep the bacon in the refrigerator or freezer so it‘ll be easier to cut.

Step 2

To a medium saucepan, add 4 cups water and 2 dashi packets. Cover the saucepan with a lid and bring it to a boil on medium heat.

Step 3

Once the water is boiling, shake the dashi packets with cooking chopsticks to release more flavor. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, covered, for 2–3 minutes. Discard the packets. Then, transfer the dashi to a measuring cup or another container. Set aside the saucepan to cook the miso soup later.

Step 4

Wrap a wet paper towel around 1 ear sweet corn with the husks on. Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes (1000W).

Step 5

Carefully remove the paper towel, husks, and silk from the hot corn. With a knife, cut off the corn kernels from the cob.

Step 6

Remove the tough core of 2 leaves green cabbage and cut the leaves into 1-inch-square pieces.

Step 7

Remove 2 slices bacon from the refrigerator. Cut crosswise into ½-inch (1.3-cm) pieces. I removed the extra fat from the ends. Heat the medium saucepan on medium heat. When it‘s hot, add the bacon; you do not need to add oil to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally.

Step 8

Cook until nicely brown on both sides. When the bacon‘s edges are slightly charred, wipe off the rendered fat from the saucepan with a paper towel. The bacon will continue to release more fat as it cooks, so don‘t worry about losing flavor.

Step 9

Add the cabbage and stir to coat in the rendered fat.

Step 10

Add the dashi. Then, add the corn kernels.

Step 11

Cover with a lid and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 1–2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Tip: In the next step, we'll add the miso off the heat to keep it from boiling and losing its flavor and aroma.

Step 12

Right before serving, put 3 Tbsp miso in a ladle, add some hot stock to the ladle, and stir with chopsticks to dissolve completely. Then add to the soup. Alternatively, you can use a fine-mesh miso strainer and/or a miso muddler to dissolve it faster. Now, taste the soup and add more miso, if needed. If it‘s too salty, dilute with more water or dashi (if you have any). Serve immediately in individual bowls.

Step 13

Serve hot with optional yuzu kosho (Japanese citrus chili paste). Enjoy!

Step 14

It‘s best to consume all the miso soup right away because it loses aroma and taste over time. If you‘d like to keep leftovers, cool the soup to room temperature (no longer than 4 hours), store in an airtight container, and keep for up to 2 days in the refrigerator or 2 weeks in the freezer. When ready to use, reheat in a pot over medium heat until it‘s just hot; do not boil.