Hey, there! Log in / Register
Daughter→vegetarian but loves miso soup… Recommendations for veg. miso in Somerville/Cambridge?
By Matthew Miller on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 7:25pm
My daughter loves miso soup, but wants to be vegetarian. Normally, it's made with fish. Do you have a recommendation for somewhere with a vegetarian option? Ideally, Somerville or Cambridge, or at least Red Line....
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Red Lentil has a ginger miso
Red Lentil has a ginger miso soup made with kombu. It's in Cambridge.
http://theredlentil.com/menus/dinner-menu
I thought it was in Watertown?
Red Lentil is in Watertown, no?
Watertown
Yeah, Red Lentil is in Watertown, not Cambridge. Quick ride from Harvard Square on the 71 bus though.
Cafe sushi
You can ask for miso soup without bonito.
Just make it yourself
If you're on the Red Line, go to HMart and buy some miso and kombu.
Make a "dashi" with kombu (basically boil water with a hunk of the appropriate seaweed). Add stuff (e.g. tofu, wakame, scallion (the classic Japanese restaurant fixings) or other stuff like daikon, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, pork ... okay don't use the pork) and cook until stuff is soft.
Let it cool and add miso to taste. (Don't add miso to boiling liquid, generally). Standard rules of adding a paste to liquid apply - it's easier if you mix a little liquid to a little miso paste to make a loose slurry before adding to the whole pot of dashi.
OR, if you're desperate or like chemicals that might give you headaches and other side-effects, just us MSG instead of bonito. Okay, don't do that either ... unless you're in a dorm and desperate.
http://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-kombu-dashi-vegetarian-dashi/
https://gurunavi.com/en/japanfoodie/2016/09/kanto-food-vs-kansai-food.ht...
http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/miso-soup
http://www.justonecookbook.com/tonjiru/
laughing
at the MSG fear in 2016
Ah. Thank goodness - I
Ah. Thank goodness - I thought people were still worried about MSG. Getting old. :(
Fear?
No. Sensitivity? Yes. MSG doesn't work and play well with some people, and reacts with some medications.
Thanks — I'm really looking
Thanks — I'm really looking for restaurant options, but teaching her how to make it herself is useful too.
Another recipe source
Take a look at Just Hungry. It is absolutely legit to make vegetarian dashi (although it should be noted, "vegetarian" != "throw in a bunch of vegetables" - vegetarian dashi is just made with straight up kombu).
Yeah, real miso soup is not
Yeah, real miso soup is not vegetarian.
I know...
Hence the question. I guess specifically, I'd like recommendations for places which are good and have a vegetarian option because they are catering to people making that choice, rather than places which are cutting corners or cheaping out — although, really, since we are talking about an eleven-year-old, if it's then latter and they are consistent with it, that's at least useful information.
There are Buddhist monks in
There are Buddhist monks in Japan that have vegetarian miso soup. That's real too.
Though ...
... to be fair, Buddhist monks in Japan who maintain a diet based on their devotion eat fish.
Not true
Your preferred miso soup may not be vegetarian, but as a general statement, that's not true. Dashi made from just kombu is legit, as is niboshi dashi, dashi made with katsuobushi (which is probably what you're thinking of as "real" dashi", shiitake dashi, and who knows what all.
brookline
pretty sure FuGaKyu in Brookline has veg miso soup but i havent been in a few years so maybe call ahead?
Also, obvious answer is Grasshopper in Allston which is all-vegan.
My Thai Vegan Cafe in Chinatown
Don't be put off by the not-so-nice- building, the food is solid and all vegan including the miso soup.
Come to JP! It's. it not on
Come to JP! It's. it not on the red line, but we have good veggie food. JP seafood cafe has veggie miso. And super fusion sushi, also does. Both are on Centre st. The miso at JP seafood cafe, used to have fish flakes, but they stopped doing that earlier this year. It's vegetarian now.
adding an answer to my own question
A vegetarian friend tells me that Genki Ya in Cambridge has a veg miso option (and a look at grubhub confirms it).
Cant vouch for that soup at GenkiYa, but...
....their sushi and agedashi tofu are fantastic, IMO