# [[Caramelized Onion Miso Soup]] **Prep Time:** 10 minutes **Cook Time:** 1 hour 5 minutes **Yield:** About 6 cups ## Ingredients ### Fortified Dashi: - 3 ½ cups (828 ml) water - 2 cups (475 ml) chicken stock - 1 large sheet of kombu - 1 cup (40 g) bonito flakes ### Miso Soup: - 2 tbsp (28 g) unsalted butter - 2 medium sweet onions, thinly sliced - Pinch of sugar - Kosher salt, to taste - ¼ lb (115 g) fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced - ⅓ cup (100 g) miso - 2 green onions, thinly sliced - 7 oz (200 g) soft tofu, diced ## Instructions 1. To make the fortified dashi, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the water, chicken stock, and kombu. Adjust the temperature as necessary to avoid boiling, and hold the mixture at a steamy heat for 10 minutes. 2. After 10 minutes, remove and discard the kombu and add the bonito flakes. Increase the heat so the dashi comes to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat. Let the bonito flakes sit for 8 minutes, and then strain through a fine-mesh strainer and into a large heatproof bowl, pressing any remaining liquid in the bonito through the strainer. Discard the used bonito flakes. 3. To make the miso soup, in a medium pot over medium heat, cook the butter until melted and hot. Add the sweet onions and a pinch of sugar and then lightly salt to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 25 minutes, stirring often, until you have nice, dark, caramelized onions. (If the ingredients begin to burn on the bottom of the pan, add a small splash of water and then stir to loosen any bits.) 4. Increase the heat to medium, and add the shiitake mushrooms, onions, and a touch of salt to taste. Sauté for 3 minutes or until softened. Stir in the fortified dashi. Increase the heat to medium, and cook until steamy hot. 5. Place a fine-mesh strainer over the pot. Pour the miso through the strainer and into the broth while whisking aggressively until most of the miso has run through the strainer and into the broth. (There will be some coarse bits of miso left in the strainer. Discard those.) Keep the soup hot but not boiling, and then add the green onions and tofu. Serve immediately.