Mushroom Miso Soup

(This recipe is for a large pot of soup, enough for 8 people, halve it if you are cooking for two or three people)

1 block soft tofu (or use silken if it is firm enough to hold its shape)
1/2 cup dried hijiki
1 package Baby Bella mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter (or a bit more if you feel like it)
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into fine matchstick pieces
3 dashes soy sauce, about ¼ cup or more to taste
10 cups dashi (or water for a vegetarian version)
1-cup mild white miso. (Or more to taste)
2 deep soup pots

Soak hijiki in a bowl of water for 15-20 minutes to re-hydrate it. While hijiki is soaking, heat 10 cups of water on the stove. Add dashi mix, or prepare dashi if you are going to use it.

Chop veggies and tofu.
- chop tofu into small cubes, about the size of a small pair of dice.
- slice carrots into long thin strips, the thinner the better
- remove stems from mushrooms and slice them into long thin strips

Drain water from the hijiki.

In deep soup pot, melt butter and add mushrooms. Gently sauté until they are soft and have turned color and started to sweat. Add carrots. Sauté a few minutes more still they have started to release.

Add the 10 cups hot dashi. Add hijiki and tofu and soy sauce. Let it simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the hijiki is very soft. Remove from heat.

Use a ladle or heatproof cup to take out about 1 and ½ cups of broth. Stir the miso with this broth until you have a smooth paste. Add the paste to the soup and stir well. Do not boil once you have added the miso. Using the same method, add more miso to taste if you want it. The broth should be full flavored and not at all watery, but not overwhelming with miso or salt flavor.

Serve with Japanese rice a small strip of grilled/broiled salmon.