Miso Soup with Vegetables

After eating out at the Ramen Bar in Squirrel Hill (which was very good), I decided I should try and make my own miso soup. It turns out it is pretty simple to make with very few ingredients. I found a recipe on the kitchn's blog. They have great instructions about how to make almost anything. Most of my Google searches for recipes and how-tos refer me to this site. I found all the ingredients at the East End Food Coop.

Miso Soup with Vegetables and Poached Egg

Dashi
2 quarts water
2 sheets of dried kombu (sea kelp)
1/4 cup dulse flakes (some sort of dried sea vegetable?)

Miso Soup
2 quarts dashi
1/2 cup miso paste (I used white miso)
1 block firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 small bunch scallions, green tops and white parts sliced thinly

Vegetables and Toppings
1/2 small head cabbage, thinly sliced (Napa cabbage is ideal)
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, sliced
eggs (1 for each person)
buckwheat noodles (1 bunch per person)
Soy sauce
fish sauce
Sriracha
Black sesame seeds

To make the dashi (basically seaweed broth)
Pour 2 quarts of water in to a large soup pot. Place the kombu in the cold water. Turn the heat to high, and heat just to boiling.

Turn off the heat and remove the kombu and put into a strainer. Once the kombu has cooled off enough to handle, chop into bite sized pieces. Add the dulse flakes.

To make the miso soup:

Bring the dashi to boiling with the vegetables and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Ready the miso paste in a measuring cup or small bowl. After the broth has boiled, pour 1 cup hot broth into with the prepared bowl with the miso. Whisk until smooth and completely combined.

Pour the miso and broth back into the pot and turn the heat to low. Whisk the miso until it is incorporated into the broth completely. Keep over low heat; do not let the broth boil after the miso has been added.

Stir in the tofu cubes and the sliced scallions, and heat just until warmed through.

To prepare a bowl of soup:

Poach an egg for each bowl of soup. Cook buckwheat noodles (1 bunch per bowl of soup) in boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Pour about 1 cup of miso soup over the buckwheat noodles in each bowl, and place a poached egg on top. Serve with a dash of fish sauce or chili sauce and garnish with extra scallions.