PROJECT Flavored Miso
This Kitchen Culture Cooking Club PROJECT is about making flavored miso in YOUR kitchen… and sharing with fellow members what you have made and how you are using it. This page introduces two new flavored miso mixtures, one redolent with fruity kabosu, the other infused with smoky katsuo-bushi flakes and lots of zippy ginger. In addition, many recipes for flavored miso can be found on other posts to this website:
Black Sesame Miso Tōfu Dengaku
Fuki no Tō Miso Dengaku
April (2022) Kitchen Culture blog entry is about urui, a springtime plant that can be enjoyed various ways (including served with flavored miso),
Yet more ideas and instruction can be found in KANSHA: Miso-Slathered Nama Fu (page 148) and Miso Oden (page 171) and Mitarashi Dango (page 228)
The theme of my April 2022 newsletter is URUI, the elusive flavor of springtime.
There are LOTS of options when it comes to flavoring miso.
One is to incorporate the citrus ZEST. If you can source kabosu you are in for a special treat. Or, if it is difficult to source varieties of Japanese citrus, try a combination of grapefruit and orange instead. You need to use organically grown fruit to be sure the skin has not been sprayed with chemicals.
I love the combination of bitter-and-tart kabosu with yeasty-salty mugi miso. It is terrific as a dip for cucumbers or celery. Or, try a dab of kabosu miso wrapped in a soft lettuce leaf. Its is also wonderful spread on rice (mini-omusubi) or tōfu, broiled dengaku-style.
Another way to create a flavored miso is to infuse it with smokiness from katsuo-bushi (I often refer to the flakes of dry-cured bonito fish as the “bacon of the sea”).
If you like a textured miso, mince your ginger by hand with a knife, or pulse briefly in a food processor. If you prefer a smoother texture, grate your ginger, gather the gratings and press to make juice.
