Japan is known for some of the best food in the world, with complex flavors and dishes that are crafted perfectly. If you know about Japanese cuisine, you most likely tasted, or at least heard of, miso soup.
This delicious soup is a light and flavorful dish that makes an amazing comfort food. However, it’s just not enough on its own! To help you create a well-rounded meal with miso soup, we’ve created this guide to the best side dishes that you can serve with this Japanese dish.
What Is Miso Soup?
Traditional miso soup is made from a simple mixture of dashi and miso. Dashi is a fundamental Japanese soup base made from kelp, dried bonito flakes, and anchovies, and a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine.
Miso is a paste that has undergone fermentation and is made from soybeans, sea salt, and rice koji. It is a staple Japanese food ingredient frequently used in sauces, glazes, marinades, and condiments. See our article on Miso substitutes.
The soup has a delicious, soothing flavor from the combination of the ingredients, and it has a range of textures when tofu and seaweed are added. If you need a recipe, we love this one!
Why You Should Serve Miso Soup With A Side Dish
Miso soup alone is great for a snack or light dinner, but if you’re looking for a more fulfilling meal, miso soup just won’t be enough without a side dish.
The majority of the time, miso soup is usually a side dish to a larger meal, but paired with a variety of side dishes, it can be the main dish and the highlight of a dinner.
Best Side Dishes To Serve With Miso Soup
If you’re unsure about what to serve with miso soup, here are some ideas to get you started. You can choose one of these side dishes or a variety of them to make your Japanese meal more filling and delicious.
1. Fried Tofu
The best thing about tofu is that it can taste like anything you want! It can soak up flavors effortlessly, and if you marinate and air-fry tofu with some delicious Japanese seasoning, you’ll have the perfect side dish for your miso soup.
Tofu is great because its light, chewy texture complements miso soup perfectly. You can enjoy fried tofu as a side dish or throw a few pieces into your soup! That extra bite will make all the difference.
2. Edamame
Edamame is a young soybean and translates to “beans on a branch” in Japanese. Because edamame is picked when it’s young, the vegetable is soft and easily edible, unlike the mature soybeans that are used to make tofu and soy milk.
Choosing edamame as a side dish for your miso soup is the perfect healthy option. They’re versatile veggies that can be steamed, baked, or fried with any of your favorite seasonings! Adding some chili salt will definitely give this side dish a good kick!
3. Sashimi
Sashimi pairs perfectly with miso soup! Our go-to sashimi is fatty tuna, but we recently experienced Wagyu steak sashimi and it was the chef's kiss!
Sashimi is perfect for dipping into your miso soup and soaking up all the flavors in a single bite. It can also be served with rice and your favorite sauce to level up the flavors and make your meal truly delicious.
4. California Rolls
While California rolls were made in America, they are the perfect sushi roll to serve with a bowl of Japanese miso soup! These maki sushi rolls are made with crab meat and avocado, which are then packed together with sushi rice and nori seaweed.
California rolls have an incredible umami flavor that works so well with the miso soup. When eaten together, you’ll be able to enjoy a healthy meal that is still absolutely delicious!
5. Rice
Rice is a staple of Japanese cuisine, so it only makes sense to pair it with miso soup! It’s a versatile starch that can be prepared to suit your tastes and tie the flavors of your meal together.
No matter what you season your rice with, it will always be delicious, even if you leave it plain and use your miso soup to infuse it with flavor! You can also add vegetables or meat to your rice to bulk it out and create a well-rounded, filling meal.
6. Fried Beans
Fried beans, or even just canned beans baked in tomato sauce, can be delicious with your miso soup. If you want, you can add them to the soup and create a whole new texture that you're bound to love!
Your miso soup will taste incredible with a side of beans, especially if they're seasoned with some spicy chili to add to the explosion of flavor!
7. Steamed Vegetables
There’s nothing more filling than steaming your favorite vegetables and eating them with miso soup! It’s so simple, yet so effective!
The great thing about miso soup is that it will go with almost any vegetable you decide to serve with it. Just add butter, salt, and pepper, and let the flavors of the miso soup do the rest!
8. Onigiri
Onigiri, considered one of Japan’s favorite comfort foods, is an amazing dish to serve with a comforting bowl of miso soup. These rice balls are wrapped in nori seaweed and filled with a delicious mixture of meat, fish, and/or vegetable filling.
Making onigiri at home is so easy and is a great way to add more texture to your miso soup. You won’t regret dipping these incredible rice balls into your flavorful soup!
9. Kimchi
Kimchi's sour taste is an amazing compliment to miso soup! It is a Korean dish made from fermented vegetables, typically cabbage. The potent flavor of salt and spice is bound to tantalize your taste buds!
If you want to add some spice to the soup itself, feel free to throw your kimchi into the bowl. The garlic, ginger, and chili seasoning of the kimchi will be so tasty alongside the dashi and miso flavors in your soup.
10. Grilled Fish
Miso soup pairs amazingly well with any type of fish, but we definitely recommend a plate of grilled trout or salmon to serve at the dinner table! It’s a great alternative to sashimi if you’re not sold on raw fish.
Grilled fish is super versatile; it’s hard to go wrong with any kind of seasoning! No matter how you prepare it, the flavors will blend perfectly with your miso soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Miso Soup?
One amazing thing about miso soup is that it is so easy to make, and the ingredients for it are readily available in most grocery stores! Or you can click on each item to easily add to your cart on Amazon. In the spirit of transparency we earn a small amount from each transaction if you use our link, which helps keeps this site going. Thank you for helping a small business!
These are the ingredients you need to make a standard bowl of miso soup, but you’re free to add extras as you please:
To store miso soup for later, allow the soup to cool to room temperature and then transfer it to an airtight container. You can then store the miso soup in the refrigerator for up to three days and reheat it in the microwave or on the stove. Here are a couple of our favorites:
There’s plenty of room for creativity when it comes to miso soup! And vegetables are just another ingredient you can use to enhance the flavor.
Great vegetables for miso soup include green onions, red peppers, and potatoes. You can even add seaweed to add depth of flavor to the soup. My personal favorite is water chestnuts...not traditional, but I love the crunch!
Final Thoughts
A Japanese dish like miso soup goes so well with other Asian dishes, like onigiri and kimchi, but the reality is that you can incorporate so many different side dishes into a dinner where miso soup is the star of the table.
Give these side dishes a try with your piping hot bowl of miso soup and you’ll get to see for yourself how incredible this dish can become.
Hi, I’m Aubrey, and I have been a chef for close to 8 years. Cooking has always been a passion of mine, as long as I can remember. I loved my play kitchen when I was a kid, and would offer my parents my own (albeit gross) cookie recipes to taste!
Here at ButterandSaltGatherings, I want to offer a wide range of ingredients, flavors, meals and recipes so that you can start living each day to the fullest, and enjoy only the best food.
