There are different kinds of みそしる or miso soup. The most basic kind of miso soup includes tofu squares, seaweed, and a soup stock called だし. The だし can be made of dried kelp, fish, or mushrooms. Sometimes a bowl of rice is served along with the soup. Miso soup can be found in many asian convenience stores. It’s sold in the form of a paste. Add water to the paste, in boiling water. That’s all there is to it! (If you like it plain!)

とんじる (also called ぶたじる) is a pork, vegetable and miso paste soup. The vegetables may include potato squares, sliced onions, carrots, and green onions. The pork is thinly sliced. Sometimes I leave just the pork slices to absorb the flavor of the miso soup, and later add the slices to the とんじる. It just tastes incredible this way! This soup can also be found in packaged form in Japanese convenience stores.

いもに is a meat and potato soup that includes sugar and soy sauce as its basic ingredients. It’s a popular food served outdoors. Depending on the region, other ingredients may include pork (thinly sliced), beef, tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and even miso paste. The Yamagata Prefecture (山形県) is famous for its いもに. In the autumn months, tourists flock to the region to get a taste of the いもに.

ぞうすい is a rice and vegetable soup. There are different kinds of ぞうすい recipes, but the most common is the one with chicken in it. To make the soup, precook the rice in water and mix it with だし with ingredients like mushrooms, radish, seaweed and green onions. This is a soup thought to cure the common cold and for those who don’t have an appetite. It’s also a soup consumed on cold, chilly days.