Miso

[desayunoencama]

On Monday, I went to this Asian grocery store Sara and her mother had discovered, near Plaza España, and bought bok choy and all sorts of noodles and some sauces. I also stopped off at another one, which I'd already known, on Calle San Bernardo, where I bought two different misos: hatcho and genmai.

Normally, I use miso to make soup/broth, and it's wonderfully easy and quick: a scoop of miso, some salt, boiling water, and noodles and/oror tofu, maybe some spinach if I have it on hand.

I think I like the genmai miso more, but am not sure.

What other things can be done with miso, though? I've never really experimented with it beyond soup stock, although I think it can be used in stir frys and such.

Are there different uses for the different kinds?

Comments

[trektone.livejournal.com]

Yes, but feel free to interchange and experiment. I'm more familiar with "white" and "red" miso. Growing up Japanese-American, with my first-generation grandmother living with us, we ate meals that included both. Among those was the use of miso, mostly the red, which is fermented longer and is less sweet, though all miso (out of the container) seems really salty to me.

We would use miso as a dip, like with raw veggies. As a marinade or pickling medium. I recall a less-than-successful version of meatloaf one time with miso in it. My mom liked fish broiled with a bit of miso slathered on. My favorite was pieces of boneless chicken cooked with miso and other flavorings, then cooled and stored in the fridge for at least a day, then eaten on top of hot rice.

Good luck!

[debmats.livejournal.com]

Besides what Joey mentioned, we also made a sauce for cookied veggies (boiled spinach mostly) or made a salad dressing with it. I liked broiling sliced eggplant topped with a thick coating of miso too.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

I thought of trying it with the bok choy I bought. what I have to hunt for, though, is exactly how to make a sauce from the miso (instead of just slathering it on direct from the package).

[debmats.livejournal.com]

Sumiso I

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp miso
3 tbsp soy sauce
Grind sesame seeds in suribachi (mortar/pestle thingy). Add rest of ingredients and mix well. Combine with vegetables and toss well. (string beans, asparagus etc)

Sumiso II
3 tbsp miso
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp lemon juice
Grind sesame seeds and combine with rest of the ingredients.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

Many thanks!

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

The genmai is more white, the less fermented one, which also has brown rice.

Teh hatcho is redder in color.

I actually add lots of salt to either when I'm making soup (although direct from the container they're a bit salty, the red moreso than the white).

I haven't tried it as a dip with raw veggies. Just pure miso? Or diluted with something (to make dipping easier, too)?

As a vegetarian, my options are more limited (no fish or chicken, just tofu or veggies).

Which is why I'm curious to hear all these other possibilities. Thanks for sharing!
:-)

[ogre-san.livejournal.com]

Like trektone said, red or white miso is what I'm more familiar with. White would be more suitable for light soups while the red is better in stews and heavier soups, and as a marinade (I've tried that too, and it works pretty well). Just fyi, hatcho is made from soybeans and sea salt while genmai is made from soybeans plus brown rice. Other than that I'm not sure which is more suitable for any particular dish. Play around and see. :)

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

I knew the hatcho/genmai difference, especially since my genmai cha is green tea with toasted brown rice bits in it. :-)

What do you mix the miso with to make a marinade? That's where I get lost.

So far I have used both of them for soup stock, although I don't know that my noodles and broth count as either heavy...

(There is a great spicy tofu stew that they make at Su Ra, this korean place in NYC... that would be a "heavy" veggie soup. Although I've never tried to make anything like that at home...)

[ogre-san.livejournal.com]

A little honey and cooking sherry works. Or skip the honey and use a good shoyu sparingly.

[kchew.livejournal.com]

I mix "red" miso with honey, grated ginger, and soy sauce as a sauce for those long, thin, pale purple eggplant. Sautee the eggplant, and add the sauce right at the end. Salty and sweet together: lovely.

I don't use white miso much because I find it too sweet; I use red miso much more often, even in soups.

I second the use of miso as a veggie dip (with grated ginger, again, and maybe some sharp green herb if you can't find shiso, which is hard to find).

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's exactly what I was wondering what to mix it with (and the honey, ginger, soy sauce sounds good).

I have to find a new soy sauce I can tolerate, I think the last one I had was chemically accelerated in its fermentation and didn't agree with me very well. (I think a lot of them also have wheat, and while I'm not a celiac or anything, I think I respond better to a wheat-free soy sauce.)

For the veggie dip, do you also add soy sauce or something else (in addition to the ginger and shiso) to make it more spreadable/dippable?

[kchew.livejournal.com]

Truthfully, my mother-in-law (born in Tokyo) makes the dip, and my husband does sometimes. A little soy sauce never hurts, but I really like the addition of a sharp green leafy herb. I don't know what might be available in your neck of the woods that would be good (a basil, maybe), since we only get shiso here because we grow it. So, I'd recommend a little soy sauce, a little herb, and maybe some ginger (again). It's hard to go wrong with grated ginger.

We've always used Kikkoman, which my allergy-prone inlaws can tolerate. Can you get it there, or do you find it difficult to tolerate?

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

I think Kikkoman does give me problems. will have to try it again. (Although perhaps can find friends with a bottle, so I don't have to buy a bottle which I'm them not able to use if it is indeed one of the brands that I react poorly to. Sigh.)

Not sure if we have shiso here or not, or what they might translate the name as in Spanish. Must consult my BEYOND BOK CHOY guide to Asian greens so I can see what it looks like and then perhaps recognize it at the Asian market. :-)