Classic Miso Soup with Seaweed and Tofu

Serves 8 / Ingredient tips: Miso introduces enzymes and probiotics into the digestive tract—and it’s delicious, making this soup an ideal start to a meal. Seaweed provides iodine and trace minerals, and tofu adds easily digested protein. Prep tips: This calls for mild white miso, but use whatever kind you prefer. Look for bonito fish flakes in your store’s ethnic-foods section.

6 cups cold water
1 6x1-inch strip kombu seaweed, broken in half
3 cups shaved bonito fish flakes (about 1 ounce by weight)
2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoons crumbled wakame seaweed
12 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 3/8-inch cubes
1/3 cup mellow white miso
4 scallions, thinly sliced

1. Place water and kombu in a pot over low heat. When water is hot but not boiling, remove from heat and add bonito flakes. Stir briefly and let sit about 1 minute. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot, discarding kombu and bonito flakes. Add tamari, mirin, sake, wakame, and tofu.
2. Reheat soup to a bare simmer, stirring gently from time to time. Scoop out 1 cup broth and place in a small bowl; add miso and mix until smooth. Remove soup from heat and stir in miso mixture. Adjust seasoning by adding more tamari and mirin, as desired. Serve at once, garnished with sliced scallions.
PER SERVING: 90 cal, 23% fat cal, 2g fat (0g mono, 0g poly, 0g sat), 2mg chol, 8g protein, 7g carb, 2g fiber, 599mg sodium