Homemade Miso Food

MISO SOUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan heat the dashi and whisk in the miso pastes. Bring to a simmer and add the tofu, scallions, and mirin, if using. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
• In a saucepan, combine the water and kombu. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Remove the kombu and discard. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the bonito flakes and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Allow the dashi to sit undisturbed for 2 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Discard the bonito flakes. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

HOW TO MAKE MISO

Steps:

• Soak the beans overnight.
• Drain the water then cook the beans until they are soft. Soybeans will take about 2 hours, and other beans are closer to 45 minutes.
• Drain the beans, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water.
• When the beans have cooled to room temperature, place them in a large mixing bowl with the koji rice, 1/2 cup of salt, and reserved cooking water.
• Mash everything together by hand or with a potato masher. You want the rough texture of hand mashing, so don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Then pack the mashed beans and rice into fermentation container. Make sure you have at least 1 inch of the headroom because the liquid will bubble up during the fermentation. See the section above for different fermentation container options.
• Sprinkle another teaspoon of salt on the top of the packed in beans and rice.
• Use a weight to keep everything weighed down during fermentation. It will slowly produce a layer of dark brown liquid called tamari, which can be drained off after fermenting to be used like soy sauce. (Yum!)
• Place the fermentation container in a cool, dark location to ferment for 6-24 months. A basement or closet is perfect.
• Store the miso in the fridge once you start using it. It should last for several years.

MISO RAMEN SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a soup pot or a wok and cook minced ginger, garlic and pork on medium heat until pork is no longer pink.
• Add carrots, bean sprouts and cabbage and saute for a few minutes, stirring.
• Add the chicken broth, sugar and soy sauce and bring to boil.
• Turn heat down to low and melt miso in the soup.
• Add sesame oil and take off of heat.
• Meanwhile, cook the ramen noodles (not the seasoning packets) in boiling water for 2 minutes; drain.
• Add noodles to soup and serve.

MISO SOUP

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine dashi granules and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in tofu. Separate the layers of the green onions, and add them to the soup. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.