A few years ago in Tokyo, I watched a family-style quiz show that featured five young contestants, probably about 6 years old. The mothers of each of the five were asked to serve a small bowl of their homemade miso soup to each of the kids. They were blindfolded and asked to select which among the five they tasted was their mother's.

To the great relief of the mothers, the host and the wildly cheering studio audience, each one got it right.

You've got to love the concept of blind tastings for tots.

Miso has been popular in Japan for at least 1,400 years, and it's easy to see why: It's incredibly nutritious, full of protein, has no fat, lends deep, savory intensity to everything it comes in contact with and is easily digested. It lasts for months if kept tightly covered and refrigerated.

The making of miso is a simple process. Soybeans are steamed, then laden with salt. Cooked grains (rice and barley are the most common) are added, followed by a special mold known as koji. The mixture ferments in a wooden or stainless steel tub for weeks or years, depending on the desired result, until victory is declared.

Miso comes in many types and colors, ranging from light yellow (the lightest and sweetest variety) to dark yellow-brown (the most typical, medium body) and reddish brown (most savory, most salty, most intense). Generally speaking, the lighter the color, the milder and sweeter the flavor.

Miso soup - consumed by tens of millions of Japanese for breakfast and often for lunch and dinner, too - is almost always made with dashi as a base, but it's also excellent with other stocks. I really like making miso soup using chicken stock, onion, fennel and plenty of greens.

Miso can go way beyond soup to work in a variety of ways:

- As a base for marinades.

- As a glaze ingredient for broiled fish (along with apricot jam and canola oil).

- Eaten straight up with cucumber spears and beer (for a super-punched-up version, add a little pomegranate molasses).

- Mixed with oranges and stuffed under the skin of a roasting chicken.

- In stewed pork.

- On mashed potatoes as a gravy.

Keep a tub in your fridge, and you'll begin to reach for it almost automatically whenever a dish needs a dash of savory flavor - which is to say, pretty much all the time.



Miso Soup With Fennel and Chard

Makes about 4 cups


2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola, walnut, or grapeseed)

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped roughly (about 2 cups)

1 cup roughly chopped red onion

Pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 quart low-sodium chicken broth or stock

4 cups chopped chard leaves (ribs removed)

2 heaping tablespoons plus 2 heaping teaspoons white miso

3 heaping tablespoons red miso

Few tablespoons of cubed soft tofu (optional)

Sprinkling of minced chives (optional)

Instructions: Heat the butter and oil in a skillet over medium heat; add the fennel and red onion, lightly dust with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the broth to a simmer in a small soup pot over high heat.

Add the onion mixture and the chard, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes to lightly cook the chard.

While the soup is simmering, spoon the miso into a bowl; add about 1 cup of the stock from the soup pot and whisk or mix with a fork until fully dissolved.

Add this back to the soup, taste and add more miso, if desired.

Ladle the hot soup into warmed bowls. Add the soft tofu and chives, if using.

Per cup: 215 calories, 9g protein, 20g carbohydrate, 11g fat, 16mg cholesterol, 1,049mg sodium, 3g fiber.