Miso Infused

I love poached fish. Infused with the flavors of the liquid in which it’s been cooked, it’s a wonderful low-fat dish. Although nice when served on its own or cold with a special sauce, it’s also great when served with the cooking broth.

This one-dish meal is a glorified miso soup filled with noodles, topped with poached fish and surrounded by broth and vegetables. When I cook low-fat, I always try to emphasize flavor, and this dish has plenty with the miso, vegetables, ginger, garlic and soy sauce.

Sliced oranges sprinkled with toasted coconut make a refreshing end to the meal.

Menu

Miso Vegetable Soup with Poached Salmon

Sliced Oranges With Toasted Coconut

MISO VEGETABLE SOUP WITH POACHED SALMON

1 (5.29-ounce) package bean thread noodles

Water

3 tablespoons shiro miso

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger root

1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded

3 carrots

4 (6-ounce) salmon filets

4 cups thinly sliced bok choy

Juice of 1 lime

Place noodles in heat-proof bowl with boiling water to cover. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until noodles are soft and elastic, about 15 minutes.

Dilute shiro miso in 3 tablespoons water. Set aside.

Bring 6 cups water, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, diluted miso, soy sauce and salt to boil in saucepan over high heat. Slice mushrooms and carrots and add to liquid. Reduce heat to simmer.

About 10 minutes before serving, add salmon and bok choy. Liquid in pan should be still, not bubbling, to cook fish gently or filets will be rubbery. Poach until salmon flakes and is no longer shiny in center, 5 to 10 minutes depending on thickness of filets.

Just before serving, drain noodles and divide evenly among 4 bowls. Top each with fish filet. Stir lime juice into soup and ladle broth and vegetables around fish.

4 servings. Each serving:

421 calories; 1565 mg sodium; 50 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 32 grams protein; 2.18 grams fiber.

SLICED ORANGES WITH TOASTED COCONUT

1/4 cup shredded coconut

4 oranges

Spread coconut on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

Cut ends off oranges. Cut off rind by placing orange on counter with 1 cut end down and cutting from top to bottom. Slice in 1/2-inch rounds.

Arrange orange slices on individual plates and sprinkle with coconut.

4 servings. Each serving:

113 calories; 27 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.79 gram fiber.

COUNTDOWN

25 minutes before: Cover bean thread noodles with boiling water to soften. Dilute miso.

20 minutes before: Make soup base and begin cooking. Slice mushrooms, carrots and bok choy.

15 minutes before: Toast coconut.

10 minutes before: Add fish and bok choy to soup. Drain noodles and set aside.

5 minutes before: Slice oranges and sprinkle with coconut.

Just before serving: Divide noodles among bowls and top with salmon. Ladle soup and vegetables around fish.

INGREDIENTS

Staples

Asian sesame oil

Garlic

Lime

Salt

Soy sauce

Shopping List

1 bunch bok choy

3 carrots

1 (1-inch) piece ginger root

8 fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 (5.29-ounce) package bean thread noodles

4 (6-ounce) salmon filets

1 (12.1-ounce) package shiro miso

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Cook’s Tip

Shiro miso is aged and fermented rice and soybeans and is available at health food stores and Asian markets.

Bean thread noodles, sold in most Asian markets, typically are not cooked over a stove. Boiling water is poured over the noodles in a bowl; the noodles soften after 15 minutes of soaking.

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Ellen Blakeley glass trivet from Nordstrom, several locations, and Zero Minus Plus, Santa Monica.