Instant Miso Soup Balls

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This version of instant miso soup which is known as “Miso-Maru (miso round)” in Japan or “Miso balls” in other countries. It is perfect for those who are health conscious and busy. By just pouring hot water to a miso ball in a mug or a bowl, you can have Umami packed hearty miso soup instantly!

siz instant miso balls on a small round and shallow bowl
Instant Miso Bombs

Benefits of instant miso soup

  1. Easy and cheap to make your own instant miso soup
  2. Convenient and saves your time
  3. Healthy and great to drink while fasting
  4. Can make them in bulk and freeze
  5. Look Cute and does not take much space to carry
A large bowl of miso adding dashi powder
miso and dashi powder

Health benefit of miso

Miso is an essential condiment in Japanese cooking. Basically it is soybeans fermented with Koji – just in case you have never heard of it. Miso contains all eight essential amino acids to sustain life and is also rich in vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, the Probiotics in Miso are beneficial for your gut health.

red miso paste in a small serving bowl with a wooden spoon

What’s in Instant miso soup

  • Miso paste – White miso (shiro miso), Red miso (aka miso), there are many different types of miso. You can use any type except sweet eating miso. Homemade miso is better because you know what’s in your miso paste.
  • Dashi stock – If you use homemade miso to make theses miso balls, you need to add instant dashi powder or liquid dashi stock. If you use store bought miso, you need to check the ingredients. Some of the miso already contains dashi in it.
  • Ingredients – I used freeze-dried green onions, tofu, wakame seaweed, corn kernels, carrots etc as you can see in the photo below. You can also add sesame seeds as well.
Two packets of dried foods and seaweed for adding to miso balls
Dry ingredients for instant miso soup

Useful utensils to make miso soup

The one utensil that I absolutely love is “Miso Muddler“. You can measure miso easily by just sticking it into the miso paste and turning it around. The larger end measures two tablespoons and the smaller end measures one tablespoon. Generally, miso soup recipe calls for one tablespoon of miso paste for one cup of dashi stock.

 a miso muddler and a wooden table spoon
Miso Muddler

How to make instant miso balls

It is quite simple and easy. In short, combine miso paste and dashi powder and shape it into balls. You can mix dry ingredients into the miso, or as I did, roll miso balls on freezed dried ingredients.

four instant miso balls wrapped with cling wrap
dry ingredients integrated into miso and wrapped up with cling wrap

How to store and how long does it last?

Great news! You can freeze them and it will not become solid hard. So you can take it out of the freezer and pour over hot water. Instantly you will have a hearty delicious miso soup. When you have time make them in bulk. They will keep for a month in the freezer and about a week in the refrigerator.

4 photos showing how to make instant miso soup balls using a miso muddler
step by step 1

Perfect for any meal time

It is perfect for traditional Japanese breakfast, which typically consists of “Ichi-jyu, San-sai” which means one soup and three dishes. This instant miso soup is great for busy people. You can easily have one instant miso soup, three side dishes such as tamagoyaki, shiojake and tsukemono. Also you can take this for your lunch.

4 photos showing how to roll miso balls on freeze dried ingredients
step by step 2

Instant Miso soup for fasting

Miso soup is a great soup to drink while you fast and some people purchase instant miso soup sachets. Miso soup is low in calories and has health benefits as mentioned above. Though, homemade instant miso soup is way better than store-bought. Many contain nasty chemicals such as MSG, so knowing what is in your miso is a bonus. If you make miso from scratch too, you know the soybeans are not genetically modified.

two photos showing instant miso bal
step by step 3

Other miso soup recipes to check

6 instant miso balls on a round bowl
instant miso soup bombs

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7 instant miso balls in an airtight container

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siz instant miso balls on a small round and shallow bowl

Instant Miso Soup Balls 即席味噌玉

5 from 3 votes
Instant miso soup is perfect for health-conscious busy people. Healthy and umami-packed instant miso soup – easy recipe with step by step photos & video
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings: 10 bowls/cups

Ingredients

  • 10 tbsp miso paste *Any type of miso *1
  • 1 tbsp dashi powder *2
  • 10 tsp freeze dried ingredients for miso soup *3 of your choice

Instructions

Dry ingredients coating outside

  • Scoop 10 tbsp of miso paste on to a plate.
  • Add dashi powder and combine them well.
  • Divide and shape miso into 10 small balls with your hands.
  • Place dry ingredients onto a shallow tray or a container.
  • Roll each miso ball into the ingredients to coat the miso balls.
  • Wrap them individually or keep them all in an airtight container.
  • Place one miso ball into a small bowl, a cup or a mug and pour in 1 cup of hot water.
  • Stir with a swizzle till all miso is dissolve.

Ingredients combined into miso paste

  • Scoop 10 tbsp of miso paste into a mixing bowl.
  • Add dashi powder and ingredients.
  • Combing them all together well.
  • Divide it on to 10 small cling wrap sheets.
  • Wrap and shape it into balls and tie up with twist ties.

Notes

*1 Any type of miso can be used. Check my homemade miso recipe   If you use store bought miso, you need to check if the miso paste contains dashi stock or not. If it contains dashi already, in the making process, do not add dashi powder. 
*2 You can add dashi powder into the miso balls or make balls without adding dashi powder. And instead of pouring hot water, you can add dashi liquid stock. Also check the packet of dashi and make sure it is free from additives such as MSG.
*3 I used Hikari miso brand miso soup ingredients purchased from Amazon.jp. It does not have to be freezed dried ingredients. You can use raw deep fried tofu etc, chopped scallions, corn kernels etc.  
 

Nutrition

Calories: 34.07kcal · Carbohydrates: 4.51g · Protein: 2.02g · Fat: 1.03g · Saturated Fat: 0.2g · Sodium: 638.46mg · Potassium: 35.7mg · Fiber: 0.92g · Sugar: 1.05g · Vitamin A: 14.79IU · Calcium: 9.69mg · Iron: 0.42mg
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Japanese
Did You Make This Recipe?I want to see it! Tag @chopstickchronicles on social media!
Shihoko Ura of Chopstick Chronicles
About The Author

Shihoko Ura

Shihoko Ura is a Japanese home cook and cookbook author with a passion for food and photography. She shares her authentic and beloved recipes with step-by-step guides and helpful tips so you too can make delicious Japanese food at home. Her recipes have featured in The Japan Times, Buzzfeed, and Country Living.

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Questions and Reviews

  1. Can you freeze these? About how long would they last in the freezer? What container should we use when freezing?

    1. Hi Starfox, yes you can freeze them. Keep them in a ziplock freezer bag. It should keep a month.

  2. These are just gorgeous! I can’t get those freeze dried veggies in the US, would you like to do a mail swap? I’ll send you some things you’d like from here and you can send me some of those?

    1. Hi Cassandra, Thank you for the offer. I placed something similar from Amazon link in the post.

      1. 5 stars
        Hi Shihoko!
        Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! I recently learned about homemade miso soup balls on a NHK TV program and now I want to make them for my Japanese friend who is studying and living alone. I think it would be a great Christmas gift for her as she is busy and doesn’t have much time to cook.
        Can I ask where you found the freeze dried ingredients? I live on Sydney‘s North Shore and there are many Japanese and Asian grocery stores in my area so I was wondering if I can get these ingredients from a regular Japanese supermarket.

        Thanks a lot!!! Take care!
        Lilly

      2. Hi Lilly, Thank you for your lovely comment and reading my blog. I actually bought it through Amazon.co.jp and get it sent over to Australia. But you can get dried wakame, and also dried miso soup ingredient called “Fu(お麩)” is also good for miso balls and any Japanese grocery should have those 😀