1. 1

   Step 1: Soak the wakame in a bowl of cold water. It will rehydrate in about 5 minutes while you get on with everything else.

   Soak wakame: 05:00

2. 2

   Step 2: Bring the dashi to a bare simmer in a saucepan — small bubbles at the edge, not a rolling boil.

3. 3

   Step 3: Add the mushrooms and simmer gently for 3 minutes until they soften and scent the broth.

   Simmer mushrooms: 03:00

4. 4

   Step 4: Add the tofu cubes and drained wakame and warm through for 2 minutes. Do not stir hard or the tofu will break up.

   Warm tofu: 02:00

5. 5

   Step 5: Ladle a little hot broth into a small bowl and whisk the miso into it until smooth, then pour it back into the pan.

6. 6

   Step 6: Take the pan off the heat immediately. Miso is alive; boiling it flattens the flavour.

   Off the heat before the miso goes in.

7. 7

   Step 7: Taste, add a few drops of soy sauce if it needs it, and scatter over the spring onion to serve.

Artwork: Original illustration for Happy Little Kitchen. This recipe is original to Happy Little Kitchen and has been written and cooked by hand — it has not been tested in a professional test kitchen.