At a Korean restaurant (Sura, on 9th St in NYC; fairly veg. friendly)
the other day, I had a "miso stew" -- mostly potatoes, probably with
onions and garlic, and quite a bit of chili, that was flavored
strongly with red miso. It was a fascinating change from the minimal
cooking i've tended to do for miso (neri-miso excepted), and the miso
clearly was responsible for the pleasing, intense heartiness.

So today I decided to try something similar, which turned out rather
differently (mmm, parsnips and carrots), but still produced a
delicious stew. (Perfect for the current resurgence of winter here.)

1 med potato, cubed
2 small carrots, chopped
1 small parsnip, peeled and chopped (note: the skin contains toxic
furocoumarins; don't eat too much of it)
2-3 Tbsp red miso (I used an unpasteurized azuki bean miso)
2 Tbsp dried tofu (maybe 2oz crumbled firm tofu, if fresh)
3 cups water
1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
3-4 oz onion, diced
1-2 tsp red chili, ground (or less; very much to taste)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
scallions, chopped
crispy fried onions (opt)

Mix it all up in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to
simmer for an hour till nicely thickened.

Garnish with scallions and crispy fried onions.

Delicious with warm crusty bread. Or by itself. I bet some crumbled
yuba (bean curd skin) or maybe TVP would work really well, instead of
tofu.


N.