Hiyajiru: chilled mackerel miso soup, made with Dish Symphony No.3

The broth goes in cold, and a moment after you swallow, the tip of your tongue tingles faintly. Cold food tends to flatten out; here the tingle cuts the finish clean and lets the deeper flavours stand out.

Dish Symphony No.3 is a blend of ten materials built on Chinese five-spice. The sweetness of star anise and cassia sits on the same ground as the fermented smell of miso. The tingle of Sichuan pepper and the coolness of peppermint ride on the smell of chopped shiso and myoga ginger. There is no chilli in it, and still the tingle and the heat are unmistakable.

Nothing here goes near a flame. Cut, stir, chill — that is the whole of this hiyajiru.

Total time: ~15 min

On top of that, it needs 30 minutes in the fridge.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• Dish Symphony No.3 — 1 tsp
• Canned mackerel in water — 2 cans (around 190 g each)
• Firm tofu — 1 block (300 g)
• Cucumber — 2
• Shiso leaf — 10 leaves
• Myoga ginger — 2
• Ground white sesame — 4 tbsp
• Miso — 4 tbsp
• Cold water — 600 ml
• Salt — 1/3 tsp (for salting the cucumber)
• Cooked rice — 4 bowls

Preparation

1. Wrap the firm tofu in kitchen paper and leave it about 10 minutes to shed some water.
2. Slice the cucumber into 2 mm rounds, sprinkle over the salt (1/3 tsp), leave 5 minutes, then squeeze the water out firmly by hand. Water left in it thins the broth and the dish turns watery.
3. Halve the shiso leaves lengthways and cut them into fine shreds; halve the myoga lengthways and slice it thinly on the diagonal. Rinse each briefly in water and drain.
4. Separate the canned mackerel into liquid and flesh. Keep the canning liquid — do not throw it away.
5. If the rice is warm, spread it in a sieve and let it cool.

Instructions

1. In a bowl, put the miso (4 tbsp) and the ground white sesame (4 tbsp), add about 4 tbsp of the reserved canning liquid, and work it until smooth.
2. Add Dish Symphony No.3 (1 tsp) and stir. Mixing the powder into the miso first keeps it from clumping when the cold water goes in, and scatters the scent through the whole bowl.
3. Add the cold water (600 ml) little by little to loosen it. Poured all at once, the miso will not dissolve completely.
4. Flake the mackerel into fairly large pieces and add it, then add the squeezed cucumber and stir.
5. Tear the drained firm tofu in by hand, in fairly large pieces. Torn rather than cut with a knife, the surfaces stay rough and hold the broth.
6. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
7. Taste and adjust the salt. Dish Symphony No.3 has no salt, no additives and is 100% plant-based, so keep the miso at your usual amount. Cold food reads less salty, so if it falls short, dissolve in another teaspoon of miso at a time.
8. Serve the cooled rice into bowls and pour the chilled broth over it. Top with shiso and myoga as you like. It is just as good with nothing on top.

Of the five Dish blends, No.3 is the one that stands up sharpest. When small children are at the table, halve the amount you stir in and shake the rest over the adults' bowls at the end.

Keep it in the fridge and finish it the same day. With tofu and raw aromatics in it, it does not carry over to the next day.