Mitsuba Osuimono
Mitsuba—Cryptotaenia japonica—is a perennial herb used in traditional Japanese cooking. It is also known as Japanese Parsley or Japanese Honeywort. The leaves have a mild parsley flavour.
At Shizuka Ryokan, we use mitsuba in a very tradtional Japanese soup known as suimono—which translates as ‘things to sip’. Suimono is a clear broth. It is a deceptively simple soup, but in the hands of the chefs at Shizuka it is a masterful celebration of seasonal colours and the umami flavour.
Serves 2
4 stalks mitsuba
yuzu zest
For dashi:
2 cups water
5g kombu (dried seaweed)
5g bonito flakes
For seasoning:
1 tbsp sake
2 tsp mirin
2 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp sea salt
Tie the mitsuba stalks into a knot.
Gently clean the dashi kombu with a damp cloth. In a medium pot, add the water and kombu. heat slowly on medium heat.
Just before the water boils add the bonito flakes and turn off the heat.
Strain dashi and transfer to medium saucepan. Add the sake, mirin, soy sauce and sea salt.
Place in serving bowls. Sprinkle with mitsuba and yuzu zest just before serving.
Serving suggestion: Add tofu, mushrooms, carrots or seafood to the broth.
