Asari Miso Soup

September 11, 2011 · 12 comments

Asari Miso Soup

Fishing aside, one of my favorite reasons for visiting japan as a kid was to dig for clams at low tide. For a 6 year old, there are few things more exciting than sinking your hands into a cool slurry of sand and coming up with a handful of clams that would later make it into a bowl of miso soup for breakfast.

Asari (Manila Clams)

Those clams are known as Asari in Japan, but thanks to the popularity of Japanese oysters, they were introduced to the West Coast of the US and are commonly known as Manila clams in grocery stores. They have a wonderful briny flavor different from other varieties of clams which makes for a soup that’s a refreshing change from your usual bonito and kombu based miso soup.

It’s also easier to make than most miso soups because there’s no need to make dashi first. You start with water, and the hard-working mollusks turn it into a delicate broth. Including mushrooms adds more flavor and texture, but you can really add just about anything you want (or leave them out all-together).

Asari Miso Soup

serves 2

200 g manila clams
2 cups water
1/2 pack Japanese mushrooms (such as shimeji, enoki or nameko)
1 1/2 tbs miso (to taste)
1 scallion chopped

Add the clams and 1 teaspoon of salt to a bowl and cover with water. This will make the clams open and release any sand they contain.

Add the mushrooms to the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the clams and cover with a lid and boil until the clams open (about 1-2 minutes). Turn the heat down and add the miso, dissolving the paste in a ladle filled with a little soup first to avoid clumps. Because different types of miso vary in salinity, taste the soup and adjust the miso to taste.

Finish by adding the scallions and serve immediately.

  • http://theindolentcook.blogspot.com/ leaf (the indolent cook)

    Clam-flavoured broth is delicious! That first photo is really calling out to me…

    • Lagolden

      Do you scrub the outside of the clams first?  I have never cooked them so wonder?

      • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

        Nope, but you do want to soak them in salt water for a bit to get them to release any sand they may contain.

  • http://www.thefoodpirates.com/ Darren Tran

    Sounds great… need to try this!

  • cjbollinger

    This looks simple, beautiful and very tasty.  I’ll have to opt for whatever clams are available at our little ‘eh’ market, but definitely worth a go.

  • OKay

    do the shells impart much flavor? are they nutritious?

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      Nope, the shells, don’t impart any flavor or nutrients as far as I’m aware of. You could certainly remove the meat and serve just the meat in the soup if you like, but it’s traditionally served with the shells.

  • sophist_roland

    This was always my favorite miso soup to get served when I was living in Tokyo. Wish the midwest got some of those clams. I can’t even get enoki mushrooms without paying an arm and a leg for them. Do you know of any easy to get substitutes for the manila/asari clams?

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      There’s a bunch of seafood suppliers online that aren’t crazy expensive, try looking around online. http://www.ilovebluesea.com/ has Manila clams for $8.88 per pound.

  • http://essayserve.com/ essay help

    very cool pst! thanks alot for sharing!

  • Alice

    Should the water be cold, warm or hot when you put the clams in salted water to get rid of the sand?

    • http://norecipes.com Marc Matsumoto

      The water to soak should be cold.

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