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!

[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. :)

[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).