Prawn & Miso Soup with Silken Tofu

Ingredients

• 300 g raw king prawns, peeled
• 300 g silken tofu, cut into cubes
• 1.2 litres dashi or vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp white miso paste
• 100 g shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 100 g baby spinach
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 sheet nori, torn into pieces
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
• Pickled cucumber, to serve
• Fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a large pan — you want a steady tremble, not a rolling boil. Boiling miso turns it bitter and flat, so set the heat where the surface just shivers.
2. Add the sliced shiitake and edamame and simmer for 3 minutes, until the mushrooms have softened and darkened and the edamame are tender and bright green.
3. Ladle a small cupful of the hot stock into a bowl and whisk in the white miso until completely smooth — lumps of raw miso never dissolve properly once they hit the pot. Stir the loosened miso back into the pan and drop the heat to its lowest setting.
4. Season the prawns with a small pinch of salt, then slide them in with the tofu cubes. Cook gently for 3 minutes, until the prawns have turned pink and curled tight and the tofu is heated through. Move the pan, not the spoon — silken tofu collapses the moment you stir hard.
5. Add the spinach and most of the spring onions (keep a handful back for the top) and let them wilt for 30 seconds. Taste the broth now: most of the salt comes from the miso, but adjust with another teaspoon of miso or a small pinch of salt until it tastes round and savoury rather than thin. Taste again — get it right here, not at the table.
6. Ladle into four warm bowls. Scatter the torn nori and the reserved spring onions over the top, finish with a pinch of toasted sesame seeds, and serve a lime wedge on the side of each bowl for a squeeze of lime at the table — the acid wakes the whole bowl up.