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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: 
Cambridge
Somerville
Topics: 
Dining
Vegetarian food
Japanese food


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Comments

By bpsgrad on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 9:18pm.

Red Lentil has a ginger miso soup made with kombu. It's in Cambridge.
http://theredlentil.com/menus/dinner-menu

By Ralph Boston on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 12:37am.

Red Lentil is in Watertown, no?

By Rob Not Verified on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 9:18am.

Yeah, Red Lentil is in Watertown, not Cambridge. Quick ride from Harvard Square on the 71 bus though.

By Cantabrigian on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 9:39pm.

You can ask for miso soup without bonito.

By anon on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 9:58pm.

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/

By Scumquistador on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 10:44pm.

at the MSG fear in 2016

By anon on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 12:35am.

Ah. Thank goodness - I thought people were still worried about MSG. Getting old. :(

By anon on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 9:46am.

No. Sensitivity? Yes. MSG doesn't work and play well with some people, and reacts with some medications.

By Matthew Miller on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 5:31am.

Thanks — I'm really looking for restaurant options, but teaching her how to make it herself is useful too.

By lbb on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 9:11am.

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).

By Ian on Mon, 10/24/2016 - 11:56pm.

Yeah, real miso soup is not vegetarian.

By Matthew Miller on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 5:29am.

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.

By bpsgrad on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 7:27am.

There are Buddhist monks in Japan that have vegetarian miso soup. That's real too.

By Somebody Else. on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 9:54am.

... to be fair, Buddhist monks in Japan who maintain a diet based on their devotion eat fish.

By lbb on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 9:15am.

Yeah, real miso soup is not vegetarian.

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.

By JB on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 7:53am.

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.

By Rob Not Verified on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 8:11am.

Don't be put off by the not-so-nice- building, the food is solid and all vegan including the miso soup.

By peterdeter on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 8:54am.

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.

By Matthew Miller on Tue, 10/25/2016 - 9:33am.

A vegetarian friend tells me that Genki Ya in Cambridge has a veg miso option (and a look at grubhub confirms it).

By Ralph Boston on Wed, 10/26/2016 - 7:42am.

....their sushi and agedashi tofu are fantastic, IMO