Homemade Miso Recipes

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

Steps:

• Wash the dry soybeans under running water until the water become clear.
• Soak the washed dry soybeans for over 18 hours
• After over 18 hours have passed, drain the water and place the soaked soybeans in a pressure cooker. *1
• Add enough water to cover the soybeans, lock on the lid in place and select pressure cooker. *2
• Set the timer to pressure cook for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes is up, let the pressure come down naturally.
• While the soybean is being cooked, place salt and koji in a mixing bowl and combine them well and set aside.
• Pick one bean and check if you can squish the bean with your finger tips. If it can be squished, it is the right softness to mash.
• Mash the cooked soybean. I used a stand mixer with a mincer attachment, but if you don't have it, just use a potato masher and mash them finely.
• Place the mashed soybean in a large mixing bowl while it is still hot and add koji and salt to the bowl. *3
• Mix them well with your hands and add some liquid if necessary. I add about 1/2 cup of liquid.
• Make the mashed soybeans into baseball sized balls.
• Slam the mashed soybean mixture balls into a container that is going to be used for fermenting 2-3 balls at a time and press them compactly in order to let any air bubbles out. Repeat the process until all soybean balls are compressed into the container.
• Smoothe the surface and wipe off any soybean mash from the container.
• Sprinkle salt to cover the surface.
• Place 20% of the mixtures weight over the salt sprinkled surface. I used salt in a ziplock bag. *4
• Cover the container with cling wrap and place a lid.
• Store the container in dark and cool place for at least 3 months. Write the date prepared on the lid.
• After 3 months, open the lid, remove the weight and turn the mixture with an wooden spatula.
• Smooth the surface again and place a cling wrap on top.
• Place the container back to a dark and cool place for another 2-3 months.
• After 2-3 months, transfer the container to a cooler place like the fridge in order to stop the Miso from over fermenting. *5

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.