It’s Soup Month!

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Bert Tanimoto

It’s Happy New Year and Happy Soup Month! Are you a souper star soup lover? Try answering these Jeopardy® questions about soup and see if you are:

The Campbell’s Soup® website calls this soup and a grilled cheese sandwich an unbeatable dinner combination.
The New England style of this chunky seafood soup, is made with fresh littlenecks.
It’s a thick Italian soup with vegetable, beans and bits of pasta.
Bun bo hue, a spicy meat and noodle soup, is a specialty of this country.
This made in America soup uses different meats and, of course, okra.
The TV show in which a character says, “No soup for you.”
This beet soup can be served hot or cold, but it should always be topped with sour cream.
A popular soup associated with San Francisco uses this tangy bread as a bowl when serving it.
Miso soup sometimes has cubes of this as one of its ingredients.(Too easy, right? Answers at the bottom if you need it.)

Being Japanese, I love miso soup best. And I’m not that picky about it, but with the many kinds of miso paste available and the different kinds of ingredients you can put into it, the varieties can be extensive. When I was growing up there were only three main types: RED (aka miso), WHITE (shiro miso), and BLENDED (awase miso). But today they are classified by ingredients, taste, color and region, so that means there are a lot of brands. I’m not going to get into a miso tutorial, but I know that the red miso is characterized by a strong, intense flavor, and it seems to go best with the heavier foods. Our local tonkatsu (pork cutlet) restaurant would always serve aka miso soup. White miso, on the other hand, is mildly sweet and a lot of people like it for mixing in salad dressings or light sauces. And as you might guess, awase miso is the most versatile miso and what we used to make our tonjiru (pork and vegetable miso soup) at home. You talk about a meal in itself, be sure to sprinkle the spicy shichimi togarashi (7 spice blend) on it for that extra kick.

Another popular soup at my house is Hawaiian Chicken Long Rice. (who woulda guessed that?) Treat yourself to a luau in Hawaii or go to the nearest “local” foods restaurant and see if they have this on their menu. It’s really pretty simple to make, so you can probably do it yourself with a decent recipe. It’s only chicken broth, bean thread noodles, shredded chicken, minced garlic, ginger and chopped green onions. Some people like it soupier than others, but either way it’s sometimes a chore trying to pick up those slippery noodles! It never fails to splash back into the bowl and cause a spattered mess when I eat it. Do not attempt to eat Chicken Long Rice with chopsticks unless you’re an experienced user…you have been warned.

By now you might have guessed that my favorite soups sorta reflect my background. Yep—Japanese, Hawaiian and American. And I’m partial to chowder type American soups more than chicken noodle or vegetable broth. Clam chowder is great, but you can’t beat Corn Chowder, with chunks of potato, bacon and the sweetness of corn. It’s got to be thick enough to stand a cracker in, and dressed with black pepper before spooning it. So good!

By the way, when soup gets this thick, how come it isn’t a “stew” already? What’s the difference? Why is chili a soup on the menu anyway? Can we discuss some of these burning questions? According to some experts, the main difference is the amount of liquid that’s used—stews usually contain less of it, and the amount of time a soup is simmered, causing the liquid to thicken and lessen, it becomes more of a stew. OK, that makes sense, but where does that leave chowder, or chili? By definition, soups are made primarily with broth or water, which is how chowder is made, and why it’s called a very thick soup. By that definition, chili isn’t really a soup because the water content is low, but restaurants don’t know where to put it so it’s always under “soups”. Both soups and stews are considered comfort foods that are eaten out of bowls, even chili. But if you’re from Hawaii, you eat chili on a mound of rice, on a plate.

Have a warm Soup Month, everyone. Make some soup and load up your Zojirushi Food Jar to go!

1.Tomato 2.Clam Chowder 3.Minestrone 4.Vietnam 5.Gumbo 6.Seinfeld® 7.Borscht 8.Sourdough 9.Tofu
Did you remember to answer in the form of a question?

Products used in this post: ZOJIRUSHI x HELLO KITTY® Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-EAE50KT, Stainless Steel Food Jar SW-EAE50

Please note that these recipes were not tested by Zojirushi America.

A Food Lover’s Tour of Japan – Mizutaki in Fukuoka

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Did you make yudofu last month? Wasn’t it perfect for a cold January?

This month, we’re excited to feature Fukuoka, Japan’s sixth largest city, and home to mizutaki.

As foodies and travelers, we love the cuisines, cultures and special areas of Japan. This month, as part of our new series, A Food Lover’s Tour of Japan, we explore the city of Fukuoka, its history, culture, natural surroundings and famous mizutaki.

City of Fukuoka, as it’s known today, was the result of the merging of two historic towns, Fukuoka and Hakata. Fukuoka was the feudal castle area of the Kuroda family, on the west bank of the Nakagawa River, and Hakata was the ancient center for international trade with Korea and China situated on the east bank. The city of Hakata eventually got destroyed because of a battle in 1569, and in the early 17th century Fukuoka began to emerge to Hakata resulting in the merged city of Fukuoka which was officially inaugurated in 1889.

The Fukuoka city scape above blossoming cherry trees

Today, Fukuoka prefecture is a major metropolis and cultural center, often known as the gateway to Kyushu, where one can see the historic sights of Nagasaki, experience the volcanic activity at the Aso Caldera, enjoy Japan’s best surfing along the Nichinan Coast, relax at onsen hot springs, and learn ceramic arts from Saga’s three legendary pottery centers. Fukuoka sits in the northwestern part of Kyushu and faces three straits—the Sea of Suo to the northeast, the Sea of Genkai to the northwest and the Sea of Ariake to the southwest–that border Continental Asia.

The spirit of the two original towns that make up Fukuoka still influence the character of the city today. Fukuoka City, which is often known locally by its ancient name of Hakata, is the main urban area of Fukuoka Prefecture. Within the prefecture are smaller cities and scenic areas that are worth a visit, including Dazaifu, the location of the Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine, where students seek blessings for academic achievement. The shrine is also famous for the countless varieties of red and white plum trees and irises. Kitakyushu, another city in Fukuoka, is a unique blend of medieval and modern industry. The Senbutsu limestone cave is a scenic spot in Kitakyusyu and is full of stalagmites and stone pillars. Many interesting museums can be found in Kitakyushu. Western Fukuoka prefecture is lush with azaleas and many old temples and shrines, including some that are dedicated to water deities and to the goddesses of fertility and easy childbirth. The southern part of the prefecture is an idyllic place to relax in the hot springs and onsen spas.

The Dazaifu Tenman-gu Shrine

While a visit to the prefecture is sure to provide varied experiences, Fukuoka City itself is teeming with things to do. The city center, or Hakata District, is home to the business area of Fukuoka, as well as to the Kushida-jinja Shrine, which hosts one of the main summer festivals held in the city. The riverfronts in the city are always bustling, especially in the Nakasu / Tenjin areas. Approximately 3,500 restaurants and food stalls can be found in Nakasu and Tenjin thrives with fashionable shops and department stores. You can even catch a baseball game at Fukuoka Dome along the main waterfront area! And if you’re looking for time in nature, the Kashii / Shikanoshima Island areas along the coast offer history, views, water and serenity.

Fukuoka’s incredibly diverse international influences show up in its food, just as much as its culture. Mizutaki originated in Fukuoka, and means “water stew”. It’s a deceptively simple dish that was inspired by European consommé and chicken dishes from China. To make mizutaki, chicken, which is consumed more in Fukuoka than any other place in Japan, is boiled along with vegetables in a kelp-based broth, without any other seasonings. Once the chicken and cabbage, carrots, daikon radish, mushrooms and green onions are cooked, each person then take the ingredients in individual bowls and eat with tangy ponzu sauce. Rice can be added to the leftover broth, cooked and eaten as a savory soup or porridge. Two dishes in one!

Try out our recipe for Mizutaki, which you can easily make in our Gourmet d’Expert® Electric Skillet (EP-RAC50) and let us know how you like it!

And don’t forget to share your Fukuoka stories with us below.

Essentials of Japanese Cooking: Making Delicious Miso Soup

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Miso soup is a vital, versatile part of Japanese cuisine. It can be served for breakfast, mixed with a bit of tofu and wakame seaweed. It can be part of a complete ichiju-sansai meal, served as the soup course. It can be served as part of a fancy meal, with crab legs and clams, or it can be served just by itself.

No matter how it is served, it is part of the soul of Japanese food.

Tofu Misoshiru is one of the most common forms of miso soup found in Japan and abroad. It is made by heating dashi stock with ingredients such as tofu and green onions, until the soup comes to a simmer. While the soup is simmering, a small amount of miso paste is dissolved in a separate bowl using a small amount of the warmed dashi. Once the dashi, tofu and green onions are cooked, the heat is turned off and the miso mixture is added into the soup, imparting protein, probiotics, umami and a lovely flavor. Dried, cut wakame seaweed is added at the end, just before serving, to round out the soup.

Making miso soup is deceptively simple, however, creating a truly delicious soup requires sensitive attention to the quality of ingredients and how the soup is prepared. As Rochelle Bilow, a writer for Bon Apetit, states, “With a soup that requires so few ingredients, the quality of each one really matters.” Using subpar miso paste and instant dashi detracts from the richness of a well-made miso soup. Similarly, using firm tofu in the soup detracts from the texture and mouthfeel of the soup. When adding vegetables, such as daikon or carrots or mushrooms to the soup, it’s important to slice them thinly and in small pieces and let them cook to tenderness in the soup’s liquid. Similarly, it’s important to balance the “heavy” ingredients, such as potatoes and tofu, with the “light” ingredients, such as scallions and seaweed, in the soup. Too much of one or the other affects the pleasure of eating the soup.

Dissolving the miso in broth to remove lumps

How the miso is added to the soup mixture is one of the most important aspects of making delicious miso soup. Miso is made from fermented soybeans, and through the fermentation process, becomes full of beneficial bacteria and active cultures. Adding miso paste to the soup mixture while it is on the flame may kill these good bacteria and cultures and diminishes umami. Miso should be dissolved in a bit of broth first to remove any lumps and then added to the soup once the other ingredients have cooked. Then just before the soup returns to a simmer, turn off the heat.

Following these rules is the best way to make miso soup. But as with many Japanese foods, miso soup is versatile and adaptable. You can use different types of miso paste, from white, yellow, to red. A variety of vegetables can be added to the soup, including chard, carrots, radishes, mushrooms, sea vegetables, onions and potatoes. A variety of seafood can be added to the soup, including fish and crustaceans. Even noodles, such as udon, can be also be added to the soup.

Whatever way it’s made, miso soup is a staple in Japanese cuisine. Tell us how you make it!