Tofu Tomato Iriko Miso Soup

     This miso soup is close to being a common traditional miso soup, except for the addition of tomato.  The dashi broth is made with iriko (sun dried anchovy).  An iriko dashi takes ten minutes of cooking time, while a traditional shaved bonito flake dashi traditionally only takes five minutes of cooking time.  Sun dried anchovies take a little bit longer to reconstitute and release their flavor into the broth.
     For this recipe, the dashi broth is not strained.  Both the seaweed and the sun dried anchovies are served with the soup.  Instead of slightly sweet kombu seaweed, I chose to use wakame seaweed, because of its savory flavor and because it is palatable when eaten in a soup.  I prefer salt packed semi dried wakame, because it reconstitutes quickly and it is basically still alive.

     This recipe makes 1 serving!
     
     Iriko Dashi Recipe: 
     Boil 2 3/4 cups of water in a sauce pot over high heat.
     Add 1 tiny handful of rinsed chopped salt packed wakame seaweed.  (A little salt packed wakame
goes a long way!  This style of wakame will become large after it reconstitutes.)    
     Add 1 tiny handful of iriko.  (Small sun dried anchovies).
     Boil the iriko dashi broth for ten minutes.
     Note:  Do not pour the dashi broth through a strainer for this soup recipe!  Both the wakame and iriko will be served with the soup. 
    
     Tofu Tomato Iriko Miso Soup:
     Reduce the temperature to medium low heat.
     Add 1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger.
     Add 1 clove of minced garlic.
     Add 4 drops of soy sauce.
     Add 3 to 4 drops of sesame oil.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh tomato.
     Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of miso paste.
     Stir till the miso paste is blended with the dashi broth.
     Add 5 or 6 bite size cube shaped pieces of firm tofu.
     Simmer for 30 seconds.
     Pour the miso soup into a soup bowl.
     Float 3 thin slices of jalapeno pepper on top of the soup.
     Sprinkle a few very thin slices of green onion on top of the soup.
    
     The flavors of this miso soup are very pleasant!  Iriko goes well with the tomato flavor.  Dried anchovies (Iriko) are not salty or fishy tasting like canned anchovies.  Dried anchovies have a nice rich umami flavor.  This is an enjoyable healthy miso soup!  ...  Shawna