• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Norecipes - Elevating Everyday Meals

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Cuisine
  • Ingredient
  • Type
  • Start Here
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Cuisine
    • Ingredient
    • Type
    • Start Here
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Japanese (Traditional)

    Updated: Feb 26, 2023 by Marc · 55 Comments

    Creamy Salmon Miso Soup (Sake No To-nyu Jiru)

    This creamy soy milk and miso soup is loaded with tender salmon and sweet carrots and turnips and is perfect for warming up on a cold winter's day.
    Recipe Pin

    With feathery blooms peaking out from their wintered bark, and allergens aloft in the cool air, spring is rapidly approaching. Perhaps this change of season is the culprit behind my chef's block the past week. Half of me isn't quite ready to let go of the robust, slow-cooked dishes of winter, yet the other half is lamenting the fact that the farmers markets aren't abound with the bounties of spring.

    This rich, velvety soup is reminiscent of a New England clam chowder in its creaminess, yet it doesn't contain a drop of dairy. Its lush texture and earthy aroma come from the soy milk and miso broth, while big chunks of salmon belly add the fat that will have you convinced this soup is brimming with butter and cream.

    Served with a bowl of rice, or a thick crusty baguette, this hearty blond stew will take the chill off even the coldest day. I really like the melt-in-your mouth tenderness and the extra oil that salmon belly lends to the soup, but if you want a lighter version, it would also work well with a less fatty cut of salmon; just be sure to adjust the cooking time.

    Leftovers can either be reheated or turned into a porridge by adding some cooked rice to the soup and cooking until the rice is very soft.

    📖 Recipe

    Creamy Salmon Miso Soup (Sake No To-nyu Jiru)

    Not enough ratings yet
    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 35 minutes mins
    Yield 2 servings

    Units

    Ingredients 

    • 4 cups unsweetened soy milk
    • ¼ cup katsuobushi
    • 4 inch sheet konbu
    • 2 small carrots (cut into chunks)
    • 3 turnips (peeled and cut into 6 wedges)
    • 3 tablespoons miso
    • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
    • 225 grams salmon (cut into square pieces)
    • 2 scallions (thinly sliced)
    • salt (to taste)

    Instructions

    • Put the bonito flakes in a disposible tea bag, or a double layer of cheese cloth and tie with twine. If you don't have either, you can steep it in the soy milk, but you will need to strain it out.
    • Add the soymilk, bonito satchel and the kombu into a pot, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove the kombu and satchel then add the carrots and turnips. Cover and maintain a gentle simmer until they are tender.
    • Laddle some of the soymilk into a bowl and whisk in the miso and sugar to dissolve. Pour this mixture back into the soup and salt to taste. Add the salmon belly and cook for about 10-15 minutes; because it has a very high fat content, salmon belly benefits from the extra cooking time. If you are using regular salmon, you only need to cook it for a few minutes, otherwise it will get dry.
    • Add the scallions and serve with rice or crusty bread.
    Recipes in your inboxDon't miss out SIGN UP!

    Notes

    katsuobushi 
    kombu 

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Giff says

      April 07, 2009 at 9:42 am

      creative and delicious. I need to experiment more with Japanese cooking.

      Reply
    2. lisaiscooking says

      April 07, 2009 at 10:44 am

      Sounds delicious, and the color is lovely! I like the use of turnips here.

      Reply
    3. Giff says

      April 07, 2009 at 1:42 pm

      creative and delicious. I need to experiment more with Japanese cooking.

      Reply
    4. lisaiscooking says

      April 07, 2009 at 2:44 pm

      Sounds delicious, and the color is lovely! I like the use of turnips here.

      Reply
    5. katiek says

      April 08, 2009 at 1:50 am

      Wow. I didn't know that japanese food incorporated soymilk. Funny thing. I just posted about making soy milk. Homemade is the way to go.

      My friend who is used to drinking soymilk out of the carton made a bit of a funny face when he tried the unsweetened kind. It bodes better for chowders.

      Too bad I made tofu out of my milk, because it is raining today and all I want is some friggin' soup.

      Reply
    6. katiek says

      April 08, 2009 at 5:50 am

      Wow. I didn't know that japanese food incorporated soymilk. Funny thing. I just posted about making soy milk. Homemade is the way to go.

      My friend who is used to drinking soymilk out of the carton made a bit of a funny face when he tried the unsweetened kind. It bodes better for chowders.

      Too bad I made tofu out of my milk, because it is raining today and all I want is some friggin' soup.

      Reply
    7. Shiv says

      July 14, 2009 at 6:55 pm

      How many portions does this make? One, two? Are the other recipes the same portion size as this one?

      Reply
    8. Shiv says

      July 14, 2009 at 10:55 pm

      How many portions does this make? One, two? Are the other recipes the same portion size as this one?

      Reply
    9. Dannica Torres says

      January 19, 2010 at 8:50 am

      How many servings does this recipe make?

      Reply
    10. Dannica Torres says

      January 19, 2010 at 12:50 pm

      How many servings does this recipe make?

      Reply
    11. Marc Matsumoto says

      January 20, 2010 at 12:07 am

      2 meal sized portions or 4 smaller servings

      Reply
    12. Marc Matsumoto says

      January 20, 2010 at 12:07 am

      2 meal sized portions or 4 smaller servings', '0

      Reply
    13. Ann of Pressure Cooker Reviews says

      February 04, 2010 at 1:02 am

      Wow...this is a great recipe...my mom used to cook miso soup and I really miss it...I will try your version, it looks really good!

      Reply
    14. Watermelon Soup says

      October 05, 2010 at 6:21 am

      Cool!!!

      Reply
    15. Watermelon Soup says

      October 05, 2010 at 6:26 am

      This is a different soup,hope it will reduce my tasty tender ..Excellent recipes to try ..Let me give a try this weekend ..i wish my kids love this..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufgy3yLebnA soy milk is a healthy one to drink ..it gives lots of protein to our boby ..

      Reply
    16. Watermelon Soup says

      October 05, 2010 at 9:30 am

      Water melon Soup...This is a different soup,hope it will reduce my tasty tender ..Excellent recipes to try ..Let me give a try this weekend ..i wish my kids love this..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufgy3yLebnA soy milk is a healthy one to drink ..it gives lots of protein to our boby ..

      Reply
    17. Anonymous says

      January 24, 2011 at 3:52 am

      I'm not exactly sure what's the texture of turnips or if they are even available in my country. But for lack of turnips, can I use a any white radish or maybe daikon?

      Reply
    18. Marilia says

      July 06, 2012 at 9:13 pm

      Beautiful, I made this and it's reminiscent of Chinese savory soymilk soup in the morning which is dressed with soy sauce and sesame oil but is quite heavy in comparison. I simmered it with sliced onion and added a sliver of ginger to the bonito bag but I feel like your simple recipe on its own will also be amazing. I also used almond milk.

      Thanks chef 🙂 This is delicious.

      Reply
    19. Thomas Abraham says

      July 07, 2012 at 1:13 am

      Beautiful, I made this and it's reminiscent of Chinese savory soymilk soup in the morning which is dressed with soy sauce and sesame oil but is quite heavy in comparison. I simmered it with sliced onion and added a sliver of ginger to the bonito bag but I feel like your simple recipe on its own will also be amazing. I also used almond milk.

      Thanks chef 🙂 This is delicious.

      Reply
    20. Michelle says

      October 21, 2012 at 8:45 pm

      I was able to make this dish and it was delicious! However, the bottom of my pot is burned from soy milk, is there any tip to prevent this from happening again?!

      Reply
    21. Marc Matsumoto says

      October 22, 2012 at 12:58 am

      It sounds like your heat may have been up too high, try lowering it. The mixture should never be boiling. If it's still a problem it's possible your pan is too thin and there are hot spots that are causing certain parts to heat up too much. If this is the case, you could not cover it and
      keep stirring it. Hope that helps for next time:-)

      Reply
    22. Tonnsg says

      December 17, 2013 at 8:16 pm

      Hi, I can only get red miso, will that be ok?

      Reply
    23. Marc Matsumoto says

      December 18, 2013 at 12:18 am

      Hi Tonnsg, red miso tends to be saltier and have a sharper taste than white or yellow miso, so it's not an ideal compliment to the creamy flavor of this soup. That said, it should still work.

      Reply
    24. YC says

      October 28, 2014 at 5:10 pm

      Hi Marc, I don't have katsuobushi / bonito flakes at home. Can I use katsuobushi soy sauce instead?? Thank you 🙂

      Reply
    25. Marc Matsumoto says

      October 29, 2014 at 10:09 am

      Hi YC, if you use soy sauce, you'll need to leave out the miso, otherwise it will be too salty. This will also change the flavor of the soup significantly.

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Marc Matsumoto, a retired chef living in Tokyo, and I founded No Recipes to empower home cooks of all levels by sharing essential techniques and my kitchen secrets.

    Start Here →

    Trending Recipes

    • Luxuriously smooth scoop of homemade matcha ice cream.
      Matcha Ice Cream (No-Churn)
    • Edamame
    • Experience the irresistible allure of my butter chicken recipe, showcasing tender chicken pieces swimming in a luxuriously smooth and flavorsome sauce.
      Butter Chicken
    • A glossy mirrorlike shine is the hallmark of any great Japanese chicken teriyaki, and this one comes together from just 4 simple ingredients.
      Authentic Chicken Teriyaki
    • A staple of Chinese-American take-out joints, this Chicken Chow Mein recipe is an easy and delicious one-pan meal.
      Chicken Chow Mein
    • Kung Pao Chicken

    Trending Categories

    • Japanese (Modern)
    • Japanese (Traditional)
    • Japanese (Chinese)
    • Stir Fry
    • Easy Weeknight
    • Rice

    Hi, I'm Marc Matsumoto, a retired chef living in Tokyo, and I founded No Recipes to empower home cooks of all levels by sharing essential techniques and my kitchen secrets.

    Start Here →

    Trending Recipes

    • Luxuriously smooth scoop of homemade matcha ice cream.
      Matcha Ice Cream (No-Churn)
    • Edamame
    • Experience the irresistible allure of my butter chicken recipe, showcasing tender chicken pieces swimming in a luxuriously smooth and flavorsome sauce.
      Butter Chicken
    • A glossy mirrorlike shine is the hallmark of any great Japanese chicken teriyaki, and this one comes together from just 4 simple ingredients.
      Authentic Chicken Teriyaki
    • A staple of Chinese-American take-out joints, this Chicken Chow Mein recipe is an easy and delicious one-pan meal.
      Chicken Chow Mein
    • Kung Pao Chicken

    Trending Categories

    • Japanese (Modern)
    • Japanese (Traditional)
    • Japanese (Chinese)
    • Stir Fry
    • Easy Weeknight
    • Rice

    Footer

    About

    • About
    • Help Me
    • Hire Me
    • Photography
    • FAQs

    Connect

    • Email Updates
    • Contact

    Legal

    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy

    Copyright © 2023 Marc Matsumoto. All rights reserved