Miso soup is as essential to the morning routine of the Japanese as the double-tall latte with skim milk is to hordes of Americans. Yet, while many Japanese drink it for breakfast, Miso can be adapted to any time of day or night depending on the garnishes available to the cook -- everything from shredded omelet in the morning to salmon or prawns for a hearty evening repast.

Miso itself is a fermented soybean paste -- a sort of cousin of soy sauce if you will, albeit in the form of a sticky paste. It comes in a variety of forms, the two most common being Shiro-miso, which is mild in flavor and low in salt, and Aaka-miso, which is more salty with a strong aroma.

There are many different types of Miso depending on what ingredients are combined with the soybeans; rice, wheat and barley are just three of the different grains used to make Miso which is usually fermented anywhere from one month for up to three years. All miso is made in basically the same way: soybeans are crushed and either rice, wheat or barley is added along with a yeastlike mold. The color is dependent in part upon the fermentation time, but chiefly upon the grain that is mixed with the soybean. Light (or white) miso is made with rice and is the mildest, while red miso is made with barley and is much more savory and favored for robust winter soups.

Miso soup is a mixture of both Miso paste and Dashi, the foundation soup stock of Japanese cuisine. The most familiar type of Dashi is ‘Hon Dashi,’ in which one of the two main ingredients is dried bonito shavings

The bonito is a member of the tuna family and thus has a very oily flesh. Bonito tuna is not up to the standard of sushi grade tuna, and is relegated to the drying rack. When dried, the oily flesh of the Bonito is shaved into paper thin flakes. Bonito flakes are light as a feather, yet they emit a robust “fishy” aroma. One small packet of bonito flakes stirred into hot water will produce an intense fish stock.

The second major ingredient in Hon Dashi is ‘konbu,’ a type of kelp (seaweed ). The closest thing I can think of to describe konbu is to visualize all those long, slippery, dark green and brown vines that you see scattered on a beach after a big ocean storm.

The traditional recipe for Hon Dashi calls for boiling a small piece of fresh konbu in water. Alas, fresh konbu is hard to find, even if you live in a city with a lot of ethnic Japanese markets. However, dried konbu is usually available in Japanese markets, and if it isn’t, many supermarkets are carrying the stuff most Japanese actually use: dashi crystals. These small jars serve the same function as stock cubes, but be careful – only a small amount is needed to create the pungent stock. Of course, if all else fails, a simple fish stock cube will suffice.

Miso soup is quick and easy-just two steps.

First, the broth. Simply pour water into a stockpot and add some bonito flakes and konbu seaweed. Bring the mixture to a boil and let the water soak in the flavors of the sea. Strain out the solids and you have the base for Miso soup.

Next come the garnishes. Sliced green onions and cubes of tofu are the only mandatory garnishes for Miso soup. From that point forward, the variation of Miso depends on the whims of the cook and what is available in the refrigerator.

Since the base of Miso soup is a fish stock, it only stands to reason that fish is an appropriate addition to Miso soup. Flavorful fish and shellfish like salmon, scallops and prawns work best. Tame flavored fish like sole would not stand up to the strong, salty flavor of Miso.