My taste buds hop to attention when a tiny lacquer bowl is set down prior to our favorite Japanese meal. It’s delicate and soul satisfying miso soup, familiar yet mysterious. The earthy salty flavor has complexity I’ve long appreciated.
Miso paste is a mixture of soybeans, brown rice and barley, and often other grains fermented with the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, the same ingredient used to ferment soy sauce and sake. The resulting thick paste is packed with salty goodness, wonderful texture and flavors that carry not only in soup, but in sauces and many other Asian dishes.
Miso’s fermentation process not only adds richness to its flavor, it also creates probiotic benefits. What a delicious way to aid digestion.
The paste is also packed with protein, B-complex vitamins, minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. But wait, there’s more: Miso is loaded with enzyme-rich compounds that boost the immune system.
I doubt I’m the only one who feels good after sipping a steaming bowl of miso soup. And though the sodium content of miso might be high, with up to 600 milligrams per tablespoon, used in moderation and as a substitute for pure salt, the healthy benefits still reign.
Types of miso
In Japan, it’s common to find many versions of miso across the nation’s regions. While there may be hundreds of variations, our markets generally offer the basic three: shiro miso, aka miso and awase miso.
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Depending on the grain blended into the mixture and the length of fermentation, these types of miso vary in color from lighter and whiter to a deeper mahogany. Generally speaking, the deeper the color, the richer the flavor. The darkest miso is bursting with body and more umami, that fifth Japanese dimension of flavor that’s ephemeral. You might ease your way from the lightest and mildest to the deepest and darkest.
White miso (shiro miso) is pale in color due to a shorter fermentation time. It’s a good choice for recipes calling for milder flavor.
Red miso (aka miso) is a step up in flavor, aged for a longer period, often between nine months and a year. It’s an attractive deep reddish-brown color, similar to terra cotta, with more complex and rounded flavor.
Blended miso (awase miso) is darker, often approaching dark brown. Typically awase is a mixture of several miso types with some proportion of red and some white. As with aka miso, the darker the color, the more pungent the flavor.
Typically, the miso we access is aged from six months to a maximum of about two years. The wonderful preservative property of fermentation gives the paste an extensive shelf life. Don’t fear buying a large tub of miso for a recipe calling for just a few tablespoons. It can sit on your refrigerator shelf for months without spoiling. Store in an airtight container.
Using miso
Because of the density of the paste, a few scant tablespoons of miso added to a broth or other dish provides the nutrients of 1/4 cup of legumes. As in the recipe here, it’s important to avoid subjecting it to high heat which reduces the nutritional value. Add at the end of the recipe rather than during the cooking.
Savory miso soup with napa cabbage and shrimp
Prep: 25-30 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Makes: 12-14 cups, 4-6 servings
First you make a broth, then add ingredients to finish the soup. You can alter the finished soup with the variations below.
Broth:
12 cups water
1 onion, quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
1/4 cup dried seaweed, either wakame or crumbled nori
2 slices fresh ginger, peeled, quarter-size
2 chicken breast halves, bone-in, skin removed
Pinch salt and pepper
Garnish:
2 cups thinly sliced napa cabbage leaves
1/2 pound fresh shrimp, or frozen
4 to 5 tablespoons miso paste
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Finely chopped fresh cilantro and/or chives
1 For the broth, heat the water to a boil in a large pot. Add onion, carrot, seaweed, ginger, chicken breasts and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Heat to a simmer; cook at a simmer, 10-12 minutes.
2 Remove chicken; reserve chicken for another use. Simmer broth, 10 minutes.
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3 To finish, add napa cabbage and shrimp; cook, 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Dissolve 4 tablespoons miso paste in 1/4 cup of the broth; return mixture to the pot; stir in sesame oil. Adjust miso level to taste, using up to 1 additional tablespoon. Serve immediately, garnished with the chopped herbs.
Nutrition information per serving (for 6 servings): 78 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 57 mg cholesterol, 5 g carbohydrates, 8 g protein, 420 mg sodium, 0 g fiber
Variations
To the base miso-chicken broth, you can add the following just before serving, in place of the cabbage and shrimp:
Fresh ginger and noodle miso soup
2 cups freshly cooked ramen or udon noodles
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
Miso soup with spring onion and chicken
2 cups shredded cooked chicken, (saved from making the broth in step 2 above)
6 spring onions, whites and green, whites chopped roughly, greens sliced
Shatkin is a freelance writer for Tribune Newspapers.