Beetroot Miso Soup
紅菜頭味增湯

This simple healthy miso soup is one of my “stay home cooking” recipes in this particular period that most of you may need to work from home and wont be able to shop for food often as usual. There are not many ingredients and cooking skills in this soup recipe. Ingredients in this recipe can be kept in fridge or in room temperature for as long as a week or even more. Beetroot and carrot can be kept in cool and airy room temperature for a week or you could gradually clean them, wrap in newspaper or kitchen towel, then put in fridge; Dried shiitake mushroom and similar dried fungus are Cantonese’s kitchen must-have. Cantonese always keep some of such dried food at kitchen cupboard. They have deeper flavour than their fresh origin. Once they are soaked in water to tender, they can be braised, souped, stir-fried or steamed; Though not being Japanese, miso is one of my commonly used seasoning ingredients. Simple ingredients can make tasty miso soup for my daily dinner.
Beetroot is considered super food and getting more and more popular. It’s one of the most nutritious and beneficial vegetable among all. It can be easily obtained in farmers’ market or supermarket in recent years. It’s claimed that beetroot can reduce blood pressure, increase blood flow and even prevent cancer. Thus I would have it constantly. However, I am not a big fan of the taste of beetroot so I wouldn’t have beetroot salad or juice. To make soup is my choice. Borscht is the most popular beetroot soup though it may take a bit more time cooking. This recipe of mine is a lot easier, takes less than 1 hour preparing and cooking. For a vegetarian beetroot soup recipe, see Beetroot Soup with Mushroom and Tofu.
Ingredients –
- Beetroot, 1, about 400g
- Carrot, 1, about 300g
- Dried shiitake mushroom, 6, in medium size
- Pork slices, pork shoulder butt, pork lion or pork tender lion would do, 200g
- Miso, 3tbsp

How to do –
1. Dried shiitake mushroom soaked in water for at least an hour till tender to slice thickly;

2. Beetroot and carrot peeled, also cut into thick slice. Wash the stalks and leaves of beetroot, chop apart gradually;


3. In a soup pot, put in beetroot, carrot and mushroom, add in water till all ingredients are covered, about 4 cups. Lid on, bring to boil in high heat then simmer in medium heat for 20 minutes;

4. Put in the pork slice and 2 to 3 tablespoons of miso. I use medium fermented miso so it’s not very salty. Also bring to boil than simmer for 10 minutes;

5. At last, put in the leaves and stalks, simmer for 10 more minutes and it’s done. I would like to have the soup with a simple pot rice, or you could make noodle soup.

用料
- 红菜头1个,约400克
- 胡萝卜1个,300克
- 香菇6个
- 瘦肉200克
- 味增3汤匙
做法
- 香菇切片;红菜头和胡萝卜去皮后切厚片;茎叶洗净切段;
- 红菜头、胡萝卜、香菇放入汤煲,放水至没过食材,煮沸后转中小火煲20分钟;
- 放肉片和味增,煮沸后再煮10分钟。肉片我先用沸水快速焯过,这样汤不会有浮沫;
- 最后放红菜头茎叶,煮沸后再煲10分钟即可.
