The traditional Japanese soup made from fermented soybean paste and dashi broth is miso soup. Its defining ingredients are miso, a fermented soybean seasoning, and dashi, a savory Japanese stock. Common additions include tofu, wakame seaweed, negi, mushrooms, daikon, and seasonal vegetables.
Miso is made by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji, a mold culture usually based on rice or barley. Fermentation time and ingredients create varieties such as white miso, red miso, and blended awase miso. These differ in color, sweetness, saltiness, aroma, and depth of flavor.
Miso soup is one of Japan’s basic soup preparations and is traditionally paired with rice, especially at breakfast. Dashi may be made from kombu and bonito flakes, dried sardines, or shiitake mushrooms. A common mix-up is confusing miso soup with miso ramen: both use miso, but ramen is a noodle dish with a more substantial broth and toppings.