Natto Jiru Ground Natto Miso Soup

Name: Natto Jiru Ground Natto Miso Soup
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 5 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: natto 200 g; firm tofu 80 g; dried taro stems 8 g; fried tofu pouches 60 g; konnyaku 50 g; mixed mushrooms 100 g; prepared mountain vegetables 100 g; dashi stock 1200 ml; miso 90 g; Japanese long onion 20 g; Japanese parsley 20 g

Quick answer

Total time: 65 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 5 servings
Ingredients: 11

About this dish

Natto is ground in a mortar until no whole beans are left, then stirred into miso soup, and the broth turns softly thick with the fermented aroma spread evenly through it.

It is a Yamagata winter home dish from a season when fresh food was scarce, made with stored foods like dried taro stems (imogara) and salted mountain vegetables. In some areas it was also served at New Year, for Nanakusa, or at Daikoku-sama observances.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

prepared mountain vegetables

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Instructions

8 steps

1

Place 200g natto in a large mortar.

Instead of stirring first, press and crush each bean with the pestle, then grind in circles until almost no whole beans remain and a thick paste forms.
2

Soak 8g dried imogara in warm water for 20 minutes and rinse through two changes of water.

Squeeze firmly and cut into 1cm pieces. If the mountain vegetables are salted, soak to desalinate and cut bite-size.
3

Pour boiling water over 60g fried tofu to remove oil and boil 50g konnyaku for 2 minutes.

Cut tofu, fried tofu, and konnyaku into 1cm dice; trim mushrooms and mountain vegetables bite-size.
4

Bring 1.2L dashi and the imogara to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.

Add konnyaku, fried tofu, mushrooms, and mountain vegetables and cook 8 minutes more until tender.
5

Add 80g tofu and warm for 2 minutes.

Ladle 200ml broth into a bowl, dissolve 90g miso smoothly, return it to the pot, and stir over low heat for 2 minutes without boiling.
6

Turn off the heat.

Whisk 250ml hot miso broth into the ground natto in three additions, pass through a fine sieve, and stir it into the pot without lumps.
7

Return the pot to low heat and warm for 3 to 5 minutes while stirring the bottom.

Turn off the heat when small edge bubbles appear but before the soup boils.
8

Thinly slice 20g long onion and cut 20g Japanese parsley into 2cm lengths.

Ladle the hot soup into five bowls, top evenly with both herbs, and serve immediately.