Miso Soup with Tofu and Wakame
A light, deeply savoury Japanese soup built on a stock of kombu, a dried kelp seaweed, with soft cubes of tofu and silky ribbons of wakame seaweed. In Japan it is served alongside almost every meal, and once the stock is made it takes only a few minutes to finish.
By Vegan Cook. Published 1 November 2026
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 1 litrewater
- 10 gdried kombu (kelp), a piece about 10 cm square
- 3dried shiitake mushrooms, optional, for a deeper flavour
- 2 tbspdried wakame seaweed
- 200 gsilken or soft tofu, cut into 1.5 cm cubes
- 3 to 4 tbspwhite miso (shiro miso), a mild fermented soybean paste
- 2spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced
Cookware
- Medium saucepan
- Small bowl
- Whisk or fork
- Ladle
Method
Read each step end-to-end before starting.
- 01
Soak the kombu
Put the kombu, and the dried shiitake if you are using them, into the saucepan with the water and leave to soak for at least 20 minutes, or for a few hours if you have time. This gentle soak draws out the deep, savoury flavour known as umami, and that flavour is the backbone of the soup.
- 02
Heat the stock
Set the pan over medium heat and bring it slowly towards a simmer. Lift out the kombu just before the water boils, because boiling kombu turns the stock slimy and slightly bitter. Leave the mushrooms in, or slice them thinly and return them to the pan.
- 03
Prepare the wakame
While the stock heats, soak the dried wakame in a small bowl of cold water for 5 minutes. It swells to many times its dry size, so drain it well and cut any very long pieces into bite-sized strips.
- 04
Add the tofu
Lower the heat so that the stock is barely simmering. Slide in the tofu cubes and the wakame and warm them through for 2 minutes. Silken tofu is delicate, so stir gently, if at all.
- 05
Dissolve the miso
Take the pan off the heat. Put 3 tablespoons of miso in a small bowl, add a ladleful of the hot stock and whisk until smooth, then stir this back into the pan. Taste, and add more miso in the same way if you would like a stronger soup. Never let the soup boil once the miso is in, because boiling dulls both its flavour and its fragrance.
- 06
Serve
Ladle into bowls, scatter over the spring onions and serve straight away. The miso settles to the bottom as the soup stands, so give each bowl a gentle stir before drinking.
Allergen profile
Every recipe here is fully plant-based. Cross-contamination risk depends on your kitchen, so check all packaging.
Swap note
Miso and tofu are both made from soy. Most white miso is made with rice and is gluten-free, but some miso, particularly the darker barley miso (mugi miso), contains gluten, so check the label. For a soy-free version, use chickpea miso and replace the tofu with cubes of cooked potato or extra mushrooms.