Sometimes the simplest dishes are the hardest to make perfect. Take miso soup for example, it is an absolutely iconic dish in Japanese cuisine and an integral element to a complete Japanese meal, for me anyway. And yet I have had soooo many disappointing miso soup orders at restaurants, fancy or small. So in this recipe, we're going to take every little step seriously in order to make a perfect miso soup that is flavorful, umami, nourishing, and comforting. The fundamental ingredients for miso soup and absolutely nonnegotiable in my opinion are - dashi, miso paste, silken tofu, and scallions. I do not recommend any substitution or omission of any of these four ingredients. In addition to the core four, I also love to add shiitake mushrooms to the soup. They add another layer of texture and accentuate the umami note. And as for the tofu, like we said in the beginning, take every little step and every word seriously and that means silken tofu - no other types of tofu please. Silken