I recently posted about the benefits of miso soup in cases of radiation poisoning. Miso soup is easy to make and is extra beneficial when made with the Japanese stock dashi because of the kelp (kombu) that is used when making that stock. More information on how to detoxify radiation poisoning and other toxic conditions here.

Variations of dashi can be made with only kombu or with an addition of shittake mushrooms. Kombu dashi has a lot of iodine from the seaweed and is helpful if you are exposed to radiation. The addition of traditionally made hatcho miso to your dashi stock has quite powerful radiation detoxing abilities. But commercial miso has also been found to work as well.

I learned to make dashi from this wonderful cookbook: The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo. Heaps of other great recipes are in this book.

Ichiban Dashi “first fish stock,” extracts the best flavor and nutrients from kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). The very short cooking time prevents the stock from becoming strongly flavored or yellowish. After this first lightly flavored stock is made the kombu and bonito can be re-used for “second fish stock” but will be stronger in flavor.

• 2 quarts (litres) filtered water
• Five 6-inch squares of kombu
• 1 c of tightly packed bonito fish flakes

Method:
Wipe the kombu with a damp cloth to remove some of the salt. Put the kombu and water into a pot and slowly bring it almost to a boil over medium heat. This should take about 10 minutes. Immediately before the water reaches a boil, remove the kombu and save it for your second fish stock. This liquid is called kombu dashi and is used as a vegetarian stock.

Immediately after removing the kombu, add the bonito flakes (katsuobushi) all at once. Wait 10 seconds or until the liquid comes to a boil. Turn off the heat (remove from heat if using electric burner) skim off any foam, and let the mixture stand for 2 minutes.

Strain the stock using cheesecloth and save the bonito flakes for making second fish stock*.

Miso Soup for Radiation
There are many different ways to make miso soup, this one includes diakon and burdock root to help detox heavy metals, EMFs and other types of radiation poisoning:

• 1 sm diakon radish cut into cubes
• 1 burdock root peeled or scraped and sliced thin
• 2 qt dashi
• 2 T hatcho miso
• splash of mirin
• spring onions sliced

Method:
Bring the dashi to a simmer and add the diakon and burdock, cook around ten minutes. Remove from heat and add the miso. Stir it in well until it is dissolved. Add the mirin. Serve garnished with sliced spring onions.

It is best not to boil your miso as it can loose flavor. Hatcho miso is a bit more robust and can handle a little heating, but it is preferable to not heat miso too much as it is a live culture.

*Second fish stock is made by simmering the kept and dried bonito flakes together in 2 quarts of water. Both of these stocks can be used for miso soup.