Miso Soup with Tofu

After 5 months of living in Japan and cooking Japanese food, I finally decided to try my hand at one of the essential staples of the Japanese diet: Miso Soup. Many people eat rice and miso soup at every meal. At the very least it is consumed at least once per day. This recipe was so easy and delicious that it will definitely be added my list of regular dishes. This recipe makes about 4-5 bowls. I have 2 bowls with a small bowl of brown rice as a whole meal.

Ingredients:
5 cups of water
1 tube (8 g) of kombu powder
5-8 dried shitake mushrooms, sliced
340g tofu, cubed
4-5 Tbsp miso paste (mine was the white variety--ie, from rice)
2 inch piece of negi, sliced

Method:
1. Bring water, kombu, and mushrooms to a boil. Simmer until mushrooms are totally soft. (This is an instant dashi broth--real Japanese chefs are probably turning over in their graves).
2. Take out a small bowl of the broth. Mix the miso paste into the extracted broth until smooth.
3. Pour the miso/broth mixture back into the pot. Add the negi and tofu. Simmer for a few minutes more.
4. Serve hot!

DO NOT LET THE SOUP COME TO A BOIL AFTER ADDING THE MISO.

Estimated nutritional info for the whole pot:
Energy: 762Cal, Fat: 35g, Carbs: 62g, Protein: 66g