Tomato to nira no nattojiru / miso soup with fermented soybeans, tomato and garlic chives

A comforting natto soup with a summer twist. Enoki mushrooms deepen the taste while deep-fried tofu makes the soup impressively filling.

1/2 of recipe:
126 calories; 10.1 g protein; 6.2 g fat; 8.0 g carbohydrate; 4.7 g net carbs; 233 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 3.3 g fiber


<Ingredients>

1 pack (50 g) natto fermented soybeans
30-40 g enoki mushrooms (39 g in photo)
1/2 (65 g) atsuage deep-fried tofu; prep-boiled
4 cherry/grape tomatoes (35 g in photo)
Several nira garlic chive leaves (10 g in photo)
250 cc dashi
1 tsp sakekasu sake lees
2 tsp miso

<Directions>
1.

In a pot, put dashi, sakekasu and natto, bring to boil, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for a few minutes.

2.

Meanwhile, take some dashi from pot, and loosen miso.

3.

Remove root ends of enoki, break into smaller bundles, and chop into 2-3 cm.
Cut atsuage into 2-3 cm squares.
Cut nira into 3 cm, and cut grape tomatoes in half.

4.

Roughly mash natto.

Add enoki and atsuage, and simmer for several minutes.

5.

Add miso, and mix well.

Add tomatoes, and heat them through. 

Add nira, and gently mix. 

Ready to serve.

<Notes>

• The soup tastes richer when natto and other ingredients (enoki, atsuage in above case) are simmered for some time.
• Tofu or usuage thin deep-fried tofu is a great option instead of atsuage.
• Prep-boiling of atsuage is said to remove approximately 2 g fat per 130 g piece (0.5 g fat, 5 kcal per serving above).
• In the top photo, the soup is served with a dash of shichimi pepper.