Potato Chowder with Miso Broth

ahsan65@gmail.comSeptember 20, 2025

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This is not your typical potato chowder. That said, I will say that it ticks all the boxes: hearty, hearty, warming, satisfying. This is the kind of bowl you want to enjoy on colder days or when you’re trying to shake off the cold after a day outside. The chowder itself is pretty simple. It nods to the Japanese pantry with a final swirl of miso and a touch of sake as a base. You can make it with whole milk or organic soy milk, and I imagine a coconut milk version will be great too. At the base of the potato chowder, I add cooked green lentils (or mung beans) and blanched broccoli, to boost the protein and work in a vibrant green, making it a true meal in a bowl. You can enjoy the chowder on its own or with a spicy chili sauce. I’ve also included a special recipe for this below. Appreciate!

Potato chowder with miso broth: inspiration

This inspiration came in a roundabout way. Wayne and I went to a friend’s house for New Year’s Eve. Malinda prepared a beautiful meal inspired by this book. One of my resolutions for 2016 was to cook more with clay, and the fact that this meal would kick off the year seemed wonderfully serendipitous. Malinda’s meal was cooked in various Japanese clay vessels and donabe (hot pots). My thoughts on Donabe cooking deserve a post of their own, but there are so many things I love about it – the way cooking vessels are used as communal serving vessels, the sensory theater that happens when you lift the lid of a pot, walk past shared plates…

There is just SO many nuanced differences regarding clay firing and serving. And on the technical side, cooking in terracotta (for example in this type of rice pot, or with this type of smoker), is… different. Because you’re not supposed to constantly check your progress – you cover and engage often. This forces you to know your pots and pan (or heat source) more intimately. Trust is built over time because you can no longer rely on your eyes to tell you how things are going. It’s like shooting with an old film camera. Malinda sent me home with her copy of Naoko Takei Moore and Kyle Connaughton’s book – Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking, and I used one of their chowder recipes (Salmon Chowder with Soy Milk Broth and Miso) as a starting point for this vegetarian version. For this recipe, a donabe is not necessary, but you can use one if you have one. I’ll also include their Chunky La-Yu recipe below, a spicy toasted sesame and chili oil – you can make it ahead of time, and it’s good with everything, especially this chowder.

Potato Chowder Recipe