Summer has officially arrived in Tokyo and it's been unbearably hot. While we like to start our mornings with miso soup, a hot bowl of soup just is not appetizing in this weather.
Hiyashi-jiru is a cold miso soup. I first had it when visiting Miyazaki prefecture. It's a regional dish that is popular in Miyazaki. Miyazaki is on the southern island of Kyushu. When I first heard about the dish, before my trip to Miyazaki, I couldn't imagine that it would be delicious, but it was surprisingly refreshing. It was a hit this morning, and I have a feeling we'll be eating a lot of it before autumn comes.
The miso soup starts with dashi. Before adding the miso to the dashi, it is cooked in a non-stick pan to bring out some roasty notes. Once the miso is incorporated into the dashi put it in a metal bowl and put the bowl into a larger bowl that had ice water in it to cool down the miso soup. Then add a thinly sliced cucumber, myōga, and a can of tuna.
Toast some sesame seeds in a pan and then grind the toasted sesame seeds.
Check the temperature to see if it is chilled. If not, feel free to add a few small ice cubes to the soup.
Pour the miso soup over rice and garnish with the ground, toasted sesame seeds.
Variations: add shredded shiso, okra, or cooked chicken.
