Dark Bean Soup with Bean Curd and Okra

Okra is a much relished and recent addition to the Japanese diet. The Japanese savor the slight viscosity that emerges from the cooked, cut vegetable; it reminds them of their native slippery mushrooms called naméko. Americans, who first introduced this vegetable to Japan, are less keen about such textures. So I’ve blanched the okra whole before slicing and adding it to the soup, to prevent any unpleasant stickiness. Pungent dark bean paste perks up the otherwise subtle broth, and th