Japanese Wakame Seaweed Soup (Printable)

Nourishing Japanese seaweed soup with tender wakame, tofu, and delicate dashi broth. Ready in 20 minutes.

# What You'll Need:

→ Seaweed and Broth

01 - 1/4 oz dried wakame seaweed
02 - 4 cups vegetarian dashi stock

→ Vegetables and Tofu

03 - 3.5 oz silken or firm tofu, cubed
04 - 2 scallions, thinly sliced

→ Seasoning

05 - 2 tablespoons white miso paste
06 - 1 teaspoon soy sauce, gluten-free
07 - 1 teaspoon sesame oil

# Directions:

01 - In a small bowl, soak the dried wakame in cold water for 5 minutes until fully rehydrated. Drain and set aside.
02 - In a medium saucepan, bring the dashi stock to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
03 - Add the cubed tofu and rehydrated wakame to the simmering broth. Continue simmering for 2 to 3 minutes.
04 - In a separate bowl, blend the miso paste with a ladle of hot broth until smooth. Stir the mixture back into the soup.
05 - Add soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir gently and heat for 1 additional minute without boiling.
06 - Pour into serving bowls and garnish with sliced scallions. Serve immediately.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • It comes together in under 20 minutes, which means you can have something nourishing on the table before you've even finished your coffee.
  • The broth is so clean and gentle that it feels restorative, perfect when you want something that tastes like care but doesn't demand much of you.
02 -
  • Never boil miso—I learned this the hard way when I turned up the heat and suddenly the soup tasted flat and one-dimensional instead of complex.
  • Rehydrating the wakame in cold water is crucial; hot water breaks it down too much and you lose both texture and some of the mineral content.
03 -
  • If your miso paste is stiff or cold, warm it gently in the ladle before blending it with hot broth—it'll dissolve into silk instead of fighting you.
  • Buy your wakame from a source you trust; quality varies, and good wakame tastes slightly sweet with ocean undertones, while poor quality tastes purely briny.
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