The first time I tried traditional Japanese clear soup was also on the first date I had with my husband at a hibachi steakhouse. While I’ve yet to have a chance to visit Japan, this simple soup holds a special place in my heart.
Be sure to try this vegetarian ramen recipe, too!
What is Traditional Japanese Clear Soup?
I admit, when the waiter at the Japanese restaurant we’d chosen put the bowl of this simple soup in front of me, I wasn’t impressed. It looked like…clear broth. I sampled it, not sure what to expect, and was surprised at the depth of flavor. It was the perfect way to start our meal.
Common at hibachi restaurants or teppanyaki establishments, this Japanese clear onion soup is usually served as a starter before the main course.
If you’d like to try a little taste of Japan without hopping on a plane, this recipe is an easy place to start!
Ingredients
Chicken broth: This is the base of the soup, so start with a delicious broth. Prefer a beef broth? That would work, too, though it will be a bit stronger than the chicken stock. If you are vegetarian, you could certainly replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth, but it wouldn’t exactly be a traditional Japanese clear soup.
Onions: You’ll use several types of onions for this recipe. For making the broth, use any kind of bulb sweet onion you have on hand — white, yellow, or red. Once ready to serve, you’ll sprinkle chopped green onion or scallions on the strained broth. If you want to try a different type of onion, spring onions would be a good alternative.
Carrots: Chop carrots into chunks (for the large carrot option) or if you have baby carrots, you can put them in the broth whole.
Ginger: Choose fresh knobs of ginger and peel if desired, though it’s not necessary. If you opt not to peel, just be sure you wash them well. [Read about ginger vs. ginger powder.]
Garlic: Peel whole garlic cloves. Use small cloves whole; slice larger ones. Either way, you’ll have delicious garlic flavor in this Japanese onion soup!
Mushrooms: This recipe calls for button mushrooms, which you’ll add to the broth after it’s strained. Could you use shiitake mushrooms? Sure you could.
Making the Soup
You’ll start by sautéing the onion, carrots, ginger, and garlic in a large saucepan or stock pot. Once seared and beginning to caramelize, you’ll add the meat stock and simmer for an hour or so.
Strain the solids to create a clear broth.
Serving this Healthy Soup
Spoon broth into serving bowls and top with sliced mushrooms and green onions. Serve this flavorful soup with soy sauce and sesame oil on the side for people who want to add a little something else.
Divide between four bowls as a starter before the rest of the meal, or two bowls for a light meals. (Nutritional information is based on four bowls.)
This delicious soup is a traditional Japanese soup and a favorite at hibachi restaurants, but it's easy to make at home. Your taste buds will be so happy!
Ingredients
2 teaspoons oil
6 cups chicken broth
1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut into wedges
2 large carrots, cut into chunks
2 inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
4 whole scallions, sliced
10 button mushrooms, sliced thinly
salt to taste
Instructions
Heat a large pot over medium high heat; add oil.
Place the onion, carrots, and ginger in the stock pot. Sear the veggies on all sides to caramelize.
Add garlic and cook just until it begins to brown.
Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pot, and simmer for one hour.
Pour broth through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the solids; reserve for another use. Taste the broth and salt as needed.
To serve: Divide hot broth between four individual bowls and top with fresh sliced scallions and sliced mushrooms.
Notes
For a vegetarian diet, use vegetable stock to replace the chicken broth.
Choose fresh knobs of ginger and peel if desired, though it's not necessary.
Opt for a neutral flavored oil, like avocado or sunflower oil.
Serve this soup with soy sauce and sesame oil on the side as a simple, light meal or a first course.
That "stuff" is the miso paste. Unlike salt or sugar, it never really dissolves in the dashi broth to form a solution. So, if left alone long enough, the particles of miso fall to the bottom and separate.
Japanese soups can be divided into two major categories—miso soup and clear soup. Both are made with dashi, soup stock. Miso is mixed into the dashi to make miso soup, while clear soups use salt, soy sauce and sake to add flavor to the dashi. Most people tend to have miso soup with everyday meals, especially breakfast.
I know that some people are thinking of “Japanese Onion Soup”—also known “Miyabi Soup” or “Hibachi Soup”—made by simmering beef broth or chicken broth and veggies such as carrots, celery, fresh ginger, and garlic. This soup commonly includes sliced mushrooms, scallions, sometimes tofu, and sesame oil.
In cooking, a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavoured stock or broth that has been clarified, a process that uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment.
Japanese clear soup, on the other hand, is lighter and more watery — similar to broth. It also has a less intense flavor than miso soup, but you'll still get that umami taste. Both soups have the same base ingredient: dashi, or stock. The difference lies in their texture, nutritional value, and flavor profile.
Is Japanese Clear Soup good for you? This recipe is a super wholesome dish! It's made with fresh vegetables for added nutrients and can be even more wholesome if bone broth is used instead of broth. Though it's definitely not a main dish by itself, it's the perfect light appetizer or side that's easy to digest.
Miso (みそ or 味噌) is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae) and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients.
Miso soup is known for its probiotic benefits due to the fermentation process of miso paste, while clear soup is often lower in calories and may be higher in protein depending on the ingredients used.
Red miso – known as 'aka miso' in Japanese, red miso paste is fermented longer than white and yellow miso, giving it a more intense flavor. It is also made of a higher percentage of soybeans than the other kinds of miso. Red miso is often used to make miso soup, especially in Japanese restaurants.
Rich in nutrients: Miso contains many healthy vitamins and minerals like vitamin K, manganese, zinc, protein and calcium. Many of these nutrients support essential structures like the bones and nervous system. Improves digestion: Because miso is high in probiotics, it helps the body maintain healthy bacteria levels.
Miso soup contains several beneficial vitamins, minerals, and components that may improve your gut and heart health and may lower your risk of cancer. If you are on a low-salt diet, read the label on packaged miso soup to choose one that's low in sodium.
If it's miso soup made with Japanese dashi (with katsuobushi) and the dashi is fresh made, then the soup will lasts in the fridge as long as the dashi itself, so at least 3 days (some keep bottled dashi for up to a week, but I don't recall ever keeping any for more than 3 days.).
Broth, or bouillon, is a common clear soup. Broths come in a variety of flavours, including chicken, turkey, beef, vegetable and mushroom. Bouillon can also come in a powdered form, and stock cubes are a famous example of a powdered broth or bouillon base.
Approved clear liquids: a good combination of these clear fluids, including 2-3 cups of strained chicken noodle soup will give you a variation in fluid intake). Water, clear salty fluids (eg.
Sorry but tomato soup is not classed as a clear soup, it has to be a soup that you can see the pattern of the bowl. I don't think I bothered eating anything the day before.
Soups you can eat on a clear liquid diet include meat or vegetable broths and bouillon that does not have any solid foods, creams, or thickeners in them.
Introduction: My name is Stevie Stamm, I am a colorful, sparkling, splendid, vast, open, hilarious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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