Suimono (吸い物 (suimono))

Name: Suimono
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japan
Ingredients: 1 l dashi; 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp sake, salt; 100 g silken tofu or 4 slices kamaboko; 4 small prawns or clams (optional); a few sprigs mitsuba; yuzu or lemon peel

Overview

Suimono is a delicate Japanese clear soup based on dashi, a stock of kombu seaweed and bonito flakes. The broth is seasoned lightly with salt, a little light soy sauce and sake so that it stays clear and pale gold. Each bowl holds just a few carefully arranged pieces, such as a slice of fish cake, a cube of tofu, a prawn, a clam or a small piece of chicken, with a sprig of mitsuba herb and a twist of yuzu peel for aroma. It is served in a lidded lacquer bowl as part of a formal meal.

History

Clear soups have been part of Japanese cooking since at least the Muromachi period and became an essential element of kaiseki, the multi-course formal cuisine. The quality of a cook's suimono is traditionally seen as a test of their skill with dashi. At home, a simple clam suimono is often served for the Girls' Day festival in March and at New Year.

Main ingredients

Dashi, light soy sauce, sake, tofu or fish cake, mitsuba, yuzu peel. The soup is built on dashi and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; not usually gluten-free.

Explore: Fish and seafood soups · More soups from Japan

Recipe outline serves 4 · ~25 min

Ingredients

1 l dashi
1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp sake, salt
100 g silken tofu or 4 slices kamaboko
4 small prawns or clams (optional)
a few sprigs mitsuba
yuzu or lemon peel

Allergens: Contains: Gluten, Crustaceans, Fish, Molluscs, Soya. Based on the typical recipe. Recipes and products vary; always check labels if you have an allergy.