14 Ways To Eat Miso
posted by John Spacey, March 07, 2014If you like miso soup — there's good news. Miso isn't just a soup. It's an ingredient in countless Japanese dishes. Miso is a Japanese cooking stock produced by fermenting soybeans, rice, wheat, barley and/or buckwheat with a fungus known as kojikin (Aspergillus oryzae).As with so many fermented foods, people are passionate about miso. It's a fundamental building block of the Japanese diet. It's difficult to go a day in Japan without eating something with miso in it.The following miso foods are just the tip of the iceberg.
1. Miso Soup
Miso soup is a traditional staple based on Japan's favorite ingredients: miso, tofu, dashi and kombu.
2. Miso Ramen
Chinese style Japanese noodles flavored with a miso based soup.
3. Motsunabe
A offal stew of beef and pork guts in a miso and shoyu soup. A specialty of Fukuoka. Motsunabe isn't everyone's cup of tea. It became a nationwide obsession in Japan in the 1990s after it was featured on a Japanese television show. Its popularity has since faded outside Fukuoka.
4. Miso Udon
Thick wheat flour noodles in a miso based soup.
5. Vegetable Dip
Miso is usually biologically active with beneficial bacteria. It's best consumed uncooked. It's common to use chilled miso as a dip for vegetables.
6. Miso Braised Vegetables
Miso is used as a base for a wide variety of cooking sauces. Miso braised vegetables (especially kabocha) are a common side dish or bento food.
7. Corn on the Cob
In Japan, corn on the cob is typically grilled with a miso sauce. This is a festival favorite.
8. Imoni
Imoni is a hearty meat and potato stew that's traditionally cooked outside on an open fire in autumn. Imoni is a specialty of Tohoku. In many areas of Tohoku a sugar and shoyu soup is used for imoni. People in Miyagi prefecture tend to prefer a miso based soup.
9. Misotanpo
Cooked, mashed rice is formed into cylinders on a stick. This is then coated in miso and cooked over an open flame. A specialty of Akita.
10. Miso Oden
Miso can be used as a dip or topping for oden.
11. Kushikatsu
Kushikatsu is either served with tonkatsu or miso sauce.
12. Miso Katsu
Deep fried pork in a panko batter in a miso sauce.
13. Tofu Misozuke
Tofu pickled with miso and sake. Outside Japan, this is popular as a vegan cheese substitute.
14. Yakimochi
Miso is a common topping for yakimochi (grilled mochi).
Miso Varieties
There are endless varieties of miso.
Miso can be made from any combination of soybeans, wheat, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, rye and salt. It may be fermented anywhere from 4 days to 2 years. Miso is produced by factories, traditional methods or homemade. Differences in region, season and fermentation process also produce unique miso variations.
Varieties differ by taste, aroma, texture, nutritional content and color. Common varieties include:Shiromiso (white miso)A light, sweet miso made with a mix of rice, barley and soybeans. The most commonly produced miso.Gokoku ( grain)Miso made with soybeans, barley, wheat and two types of millet. Mamemiso (soybean miso)Made with soybeans for a reddish brown color and strong umami taste.Komemiso (rice miso)Miso made with rice typically has a yellow or red color.Mugi miso (barley miso)A red miso with a strong smell.Akamiso (red miso)Aged miso that turns red or black. Often aged one year or more. Has a stronger taste that's salty and umami. High quality ingredients may be selected (why bother aging cheap miso?).
| Miso is ranked | #2 of 16 Signs Japan is Obsessed With Soybeans #5 of 34 Ingredients for Japanese Food #8 of 13 Ways To Enjoy Yuzu #9 of 96 Vegetarian Japanese Foods |
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