Just a question/comment on the miso soup just posted....
I am wondering if the
2-4 pieces of Wakame
might not be 2-4 pieces of kombu
instead. Simmering wakame for 20-30 minutes seems really strange to
me. It's great in miso soup but you usually add it just for a few minutes
of cooking at the end.
kombu is a thick, hard sea vegetable (kind of looks like dark green
cardboard :-) and is used for making stock, containing a natural
form of MSG.... also you may want to not to actually eat it after
simmering.
An easy miso "recipe" is to mix some to taste with rice vinegar and
a pinch of sugar to make "sumiso". You can then dress various lightly
cooked vegetables with this, such as broiled and peeled eggplant,
blanched greens, etc. Eat at room temperature or cold. A white miso
makes a sweeter paste, and red miso more salty and robust, so you
can pair with different vegetables.
Aiko